New Kid on the block: junior college program in Florida is a new beginning for former Demons guard Jacolbey Owens

Panama City, Florida is well known for it’s

beaches, nightlife, spring break and vacation opportunities but for former

Warner Robins High School and current Gulf Coast State University freshman

Jacolbey Owens this walk along the beach is anything but a vacation. Owens, who

made a jump shot with the clock running down and a Miller Grove High School

draped all over him and the 5A state championship on the line, is not new to

pressure but this college experience should pose a different a new challenge.

He’s no longer big man on camous, at least not yet, today he’s a freshman in a

new town with a lot to learn. “It’s nothing I didn’t expect,” said Owens about

his first few days on campus. “It’s something I’m used to because a lot of it I

did in high school.”

His high school coach, Jamal Garman, agrees,

“Jacolbey will adjust just fine, he’s already been pushed that hard in

parctice,” said Garman of his high-intensity practices at Warner Robins High

School. “So now all he has to do is learn to do it on his own and I think he’ll

do that just fine.”

His feelings on living in and attending college in

Panama City are similar. “The campus is beautiful and I’m excited about what’s

to come in the future.”

The Gulf Coast State Commodores have already

started working out in the weight room and Owens is feeling the immediate

effects of a collegiate weight program. “I feel like I’m swole already.” The

weight room might not be as “beautiful” as the campus but it’s necessary for

Owens to enjoy both equally if he is to reach his college basketball goals.

A Division I level talent coming out of high

school, Owens had plenty of offers to play at that level but chose to go the

junior college route and outside of leagues in California and Texas, arguably

the top two-year college basketball regions, there’s no better Division I

junior college basketball better than in the sunshine state. In particular in

the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) which is broken up

into three conferences: the Mid-Florida, Southern, Suncoast and Panhandle where

the Commodores play alongside JUCO powerhouse programs Chipola

College,Northwest Florida State College, Pensacola State College and Talahassee

Community College, all of whom have sent their fair share of Division I talents

to the major conferences around the country.

Under Jay Powell, the Commodores head coach for

over a decade, there have been 35 players that have matriculated to Division I

programs including former Iowa State Cyclone Marquis Gilstrap and Texas Tech

Red Raider Brad Reese from the 2009 team and most recently 2015 graduate Anton

Waters who moved on to Western Kentucky, and 2017 graduates Jeremy Harris

(University of Buffalo), Tyler Byrd (Florida Atlantic) and Londell King

(Morehead State). Part of the reason Owens chose to play for Powell at Gulf

Coast State was because of the team’s track record on graduating players – 87

percent of his basketball players have graduated with their Associate’s

Degrees. “I heard thsi is the hardest level of competition and I expect it to

be whole different level and way harder [than high school],” said Owens. “My

goal is to get the starting position and bring Gulf Coast State a

championship.”

Goals in hand, Owens is on his own now and the

coming season at Gulf Coast State, his first as a collegian, will be a new

beginning in a number of ways.

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