On Jan. 10, senior Jaylen Owens scored his 1,000th career point on ENC’s men’s basketball team at an away game against Western New England, which ENC won 83-47.
Owens speaks of his hard-earned achievement with understandable delight.
“I was just relieved when it finally happened,” Owens said, “Since I first got to ENC and saw all the 1,000 point scorers on the banners in the gym, I knew I wanted to be on one of them. I wanted my name to be on a banner and now I will forever be connected to the school.”
Owens has always been connected to basketball, being immersed in it from a very young age.
“My mom used to coach and my dad was an all-city player in high school, so it was probably destined for me to play,” Owens recounted.
He says he owes a lot of his success to his parents, who are his biggest role models.
“[They] have always pushed me to not be content and to [be] my best on and off the court, so that’s what I try to do,” Owens continued.
Owens stated that he hates losing more than he enjoys winning, which contributed to his success in making 1,000 points during his basketball career at ENC.
Scoring 1,000 points in a career is one of the highest achievements in an undergraduate basketball setting. Owens said another personal goal he has is to be named player of the year in the conference, for which he was nominated as runner-up last season.
A team goal he has is to become conference champions.
“To win the conference is something our team feels like we have the talent and capability to do,” Owens said.
In the pre-season, the team was selected as the number one team in the conference. Winning the championship is something Owens said the team believes they have the ability to attain.
“We feel that our time is coming,” he added.
So far, the team’s overall record is 14-1 and 7-1 in the conference. Their schedule can be found at ENC’s Athletics home page, as well as a roster, scores to each of their games, and recaps.