By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Three Owens Community College men's basketball players are moving on to four-year schools after signing letters of intent yesterday.
"One of our main goals here at Owens is to move guys on to four-year schools," said Owens men's basketball head coach Dave Clarke. "Whether its Division I, II, NAIA, D-III, we take a lot of pride in moving guys on."
John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) and Kenny Jones (Clay/South Bend, Ind.) have each signed with NCAA Division I Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., while Pete Firlik (Catholic Central/Grand Rapids, Mich.) signed with NCAA Division II Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich.
Murry, a 6'4" sophomore guard, led the Express in scoring each of the past two seasons on his way to 1,107 career points. In his two years, he averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game en route to NJCAA Division II Third Team All-American honors. He is a two-time First Team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) and First Team All-Region XII player. Additionally, he is the program's all-time leader in free throws made (274) and free throws attempted (371), and he earned OCCAC player of the week honors five times in his career.
"John has good size at 6-4," said Austin Peay head men's basketball coach Dave Loos via LetsGoPeay.com. "He is a guy who I feel can play three positions. He put up some really good numbers at Owens and was an All-American selection.
Jones, a 6'7" sophomore forward, really blossomed as a sophomore. After averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, the high-flying Jones averaged 11.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game this past season. In conference play, he averaged 13.1 points, eight rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game en route to Second Team All-OCCAC honors, and he earned OCCAC player of the week honors on March 1. In his two seasons, Jones averaged 8.8 points (536 total), 5.8 rebounds (355 total) and 1.1 blocks (70 total) per game.
"Kenny has a really good motor and really runs the floor well," Loos said via LetsGoPeay.com. "He is a guy who really put up good numbers this year. He is thin, but is basketball strong and athletic."
The Austin Peay Governors finished 8-22 overall and 3-13 in Ohio Valley Conference contests last season.
Firlik, a 6'4" freshman guard, became the latest one and done player at Owens, and the first since DeVondre Peoples signed with Berea College following the 2013-14 season.
Firlik averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game this past season and produced a season-high 21 points on Jan. 28 at Lorain County Community College. In OCCAC play, Firlik averaged 11 points and 2.8 rebounds to earn Honorable Mention All-OCCAC honors.
Ferris State finished 23-9 overall last year and 16-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). They defeated Lake Superior State in the GLIAC championship game and advanced to the NCAA D-II Midwest Regional before falling in a rematch against Lake Superior State.
"Every year we have to reload a lot of guys, but our number one focus is to move guys on to four-year schools whether they come here for one year or two," Clarke said. "Pete was a one-year kid. He found a school that he really likes, and that's why he's moving on. Kenny and John have been here for two years. I have to reload almost every single year and it's been a great thing that we keep getting great players that we can move on to four-year schools."
Notes
This past season, the trio of Murry, Jones and Firlik led the Owens men to a 25-7 record and the program's second consecutive OCCAC championship. Following the regular season, Owens advanced to the NJCAA Region XII District 11 championship for the fourth straight season before losing 80-78 to Lakeland Community College on a last second shot.
For Murry and Jones, they led Owens to a 50-13 record overall the past two years and a 23-3 mark in OCCAC play. They won two OCCAC championships and twice advanced to the Region XII District 11 championship game - dropping both games by a combined three points.
Murry and Jones will be joining another junior college star in next year's APSU recruiting class as NJCAA Division I Wabash Valley College's Terrell Thompson also signed.
With Jones and Murry signing with Austin Peay, the Owens men's basketball program has now produced six NCAA Division I student-athletes over the past three years. The others include: Justin Edmonds (2011-13, Marshall University), James Kelly (2011-13, University of Miami, Fla./Marshall University), Bikramjit Gill (2013-14, Ball State University) and Joe Retic II (2012-13, Liberty University).
Moreover, if you throw in Firlik's departure, Owens has now sent 15 players to four-year schools over the past four years. Aside from the aformentioned seven players, the others include: Tony Boykins (2012-14, NCAA D-II Gannon University), Andy Bachman (2012-14, NCAA D-II Tiffin University), Markese Allen (2012-14, NCAA D-II Ohio Valley University), Franklin Lindsey (2011-13, NAIA Indiana Tech University), Jay Marquette (2011-13, NCAA D-II Lee University), Jerron Jamerson (2011-12, NAIA Goshen College), DeVondre Peoples (2013-14, NAIA Berea College) and Jordan Basinger (2011-12, NAIA Siena Heights University).
Firlik will play for Owens head coach Dave Clarke's alma mater, Ferris State. Clarke is a 20014 graduate of Ferris State, where he played from 2002-04.