Before we delve into and evaluate the Man Child, lets discuss Travis Walton of Michigan State fame. He is that incredible guy that needs to be celebrated and given much credit for his mentorship and skill development of Owen Eteuati Edwards.
Travis is the former Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year and G-League assistant coach and ultra trainer. He’s earned much respect for what he’s done for the game as an instructor of the highest order for all his clients. T-Walton is pure D-O-P-E.
His most high profile client is probably Draymond Green, as T is his primary trainer. Get to know Walton and it’s easy to see he’s this super cool guy to have a deep convo with.
He told me that he thinks the 6-8 Owen Eteuati Edwards could easily have a phenom line of statistics of 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assist per game as a freshman in high school.
Let’s let Walton speak on O-Edwards for himself, “Owen is this ever humble youngster and completely unselfish mindset of a talented player. I project he’ll be really good as a prep player and even more as he prepares himself to go into college because he knows how to make plays for himself and for others.
“He’s that basketball mind that acts as an utter sponge when you’re around him. You see him looking to find more and more time in the gym or breaking down film to improve himself and/or his team. He’s a joy to coach and he knows I care about him a lot when I push him to his outer limits.
“What’s also impressive about Owen is that he cares about others and shows the synergy to combine with teammates to execute to the extreme levels of success. Owen is like Draymond in the way that he wants to be a connector.
"He connects all the pieces of the team together of what is needed to succeed. “He gives that pass a to a teammate at a critical moment for an inside score, or gets that rebound that no one can stop him from getting. Owen makes it happen no matter what.
“Yes, there is a ton of work for him to get going on for him to achieve the highest level, but you see him put in vast amounts of time to get there. It’s because of his tireless work ethic. He wants to get there like few others. Period.”
Owen’s story is of a freshman that is extremely humble, and about his ultra respectful family and village that nurtures him on to multiple ways of showing he can be a success in life and with sports.
Let’s hear from a giant in the basketball community, Owen’s former AAU coach Frank Robinson. F-Robinson is that laid back sitting in his chair with his arms and legs crossed just so, like only F can.
Frank was a star in college and played in the NBA as well. He could easily be regarded as one of the most genuine and valuable mentors and trainers a kid could be lucky to have in all of SoCal.
F-Robinson also owns the The DSTRKT Gym and has so much pride in his association with Owen. Feel his powerful words, “Owen Edwards is a student and a leader. His eagerness to learn is one of the main reasons why he's been able to have early success.
“A future star who already understands what it means to be selfless. One of the first things I noticed about Owen was his unique blend of size, IQ and skill at such a young age. Owen is flat out a great human being first and foremost.”
#huge words from a giant in the hoop community
What you also have to know about Owen is that he has a tremendous passion for baseball as well. He is a 2-sport athlete who dreams of both being a pitcher in the big leagues and also a pro in basketball,
I’ll let Owen share about himself, “What I hope others see about me is that even though there are 10 players on the basketball court, what you need to boil down the most is that I’m going to be that one guy committed to helping the other 4 guys on my team to succeed.
“I want to be the spark to lead my team to success. Whatever that means on the court, I’ll do it. And I’ll work at whatever training is needed, whatever schedule it takes, whatever sacrifice it takes.
“I’ll miss whatever movies. I have missed many fun times that others my age might’ve enjoyed to achieve the goals that my mind has in store for my future success. It’s a little like Kobe said, we make a contract with ourselves and it’s a non negotiable contract.
“I’ve had this mentality since my 6th or 7th grade that I could realize this dream of mine of going to the pros. I stand on the shoulders of those that came before me.
“For example, my older brother Frankie who played at Cal State Northridge and overseas after he graduated. My dad Frank Sr. played at Long Beach State and paved the way for me. My mom is a great Biology teacher at Cathedral High that I look up to. She is an athletic trainer as well.
“My older brother Noa is a junior earning D-1 scholarship offers lately from a variety of programs around the country. That makes us very proud of him in addition to his very high gpa and excellent character he shows as well off the court.
“We all have this excitement of what is to come, but none of us we ever take a single thing for granted, not even a bit.”
“When I got invited to go to Duke in the 8th grade because of my baseball talent, I felt that was a sign I was putting in the right work and energy on my journey. It got me excited and just powered me on, motivating me forward really.
“My village is what got me here. Coach Nick [Wallace] at Arcadia and his son Nick Jr. have been so instrumental to us all. Coach Kenroy Jarrett is one of my instrumental trainers, and he is so very detailed in all our sessions together. Also my guy Travis Walton is as well.”
"Billy Vogel in baseball is my pitching coach and is so amazing to me too. So many have helped me in my journey. I just can’t thank them all here in this story, but they’re all in my heart forever.
“I take them all with me to the gym each day, I never skip a day. I try to grind for the ages, grind like the mamba mentality, make the dream a reality! God, family, team, I have much to prove, and the rest of my life to do so. I’m on a big mission to prove a lot.”
This kid? He’s not a kid. He’s a mature Man Child, like a man among boys and is on track to receive really high grades. Owen is currently maintaining a nearly a 4.0 gpa and has put a lot of time into being a student athlete in school like his brother.
Everyone in this family has blown me away like few other families I’ve ever known. The word “different” is often thrown around too much sometimes, but it most def applies to this family. 100. It was an honor putting 80-100 hours into constructing their story.
Another phenom trainer that must highlighted is Kenroy Jarrett out of Orange County. He is that real one guy that has trained Owen and Noa, while letting them hang with his own children as they all listen to reggae music in a comfortable atmosphere of love and uplifting skill acquisition.
K-Jarrett has trained the likes of NBA’s Buddy Heild, Dante Exum, and so many other elite players and athletes. He has these authentic words on Owen, “Owen has developed quickly. He has the personality to play tough, plays with a chip on his shoulder. He plays fair, but has a mean streak in him.
“He trains as a guard to help with his footwork. His touch goes from outside the rim, and is getting better. His overall body of work is improving and improving more steadily. He’s just such a great, great guy to be around.”
Let’s hear from Owen’s brother Noa who is 2 years older then him at Arcadia High, “Owen is always going to be God 1st, that’s what our morals and family values are built around. We don’t have egos on our team, we all just love hanging out together on the team.
“We feel we have the right chemistry to win big this year in the Pacific League. We’d like to finish our goal to be co-MVPs of the League, but we’ll see how it goes and we don’t take anything for granted. With Nick Jr helping to run the offense among so many other aspects on the team, our whole squad feels utilized and confident and super energized!”
This story really is about family at its core. It’s important to realize that Owen’s background is 1/2 Samoan, 1/4 Japanese, and 1/4 African American. But truthfully, Owen is 100% and fantastically proud of all the cultures inside him to be honest.
I’ve known dozens of Samoans that populate the NFL in my 53 years on earth. Samoans are just built different as a compliment to their nature.
But it seems Owen’s true love in sport is basketball, he just can’t put the brown leather ball down. For the couple of years I’ve been watching Owen hoop a lot I’ve seen he has this tank frame for a body that glides across so gracefully like skates on ice on a wooden floor.
He is the epitome of this selfless connector that gets everyone on track out there, just as Travis Walton mentioned.
In Samoan there’s a term of affection called “Uce“, that is to be someone’s uncle, or like a guardian to a person. That definition most fits my guy Owen, he’s not just this gentle soul off the court that cares for others, he’s the most mannered young man you’ll ever meet, with all “yes sirs and ma'ams” for days and days.
One can’t forget his love and skill for baseball. He loves to pound that small white hard ball into the catcher’s mitt too.
Let’s hear from a great mentor in Owen’s life who feels he has a real chance to go pro. Billy Vogel also coached his brother Matthew all the way to the Seattle Mariners. If you ask me, that’s big cred right there fosho.
As Billy states it, “Owen? He has this incredible mound presence indeed. A demeanor you can’t teach. His family are the ultimate respectful people of course, his work ethic is off the charts.
“Maybe it’s his genuine ability to dig deeper in the moment to grab within himself for just the right play that will separate him from all others.
“I coach for Arcadia and others tell me we have a very good team, but he makes coaching all the more enjoyable to be honest!”
Another super baseball mentor that was a great AAU coach for Owen was Brandon Quintero who played At Cal State LA and got drafted to the White Sox and also played in Mexico with former MLB players.
Let’s feel his knowledgeable words and appreciative relationship with Owen, “Owen had so much initiative when he reached out to me about coaching him so long ago in his youth.
"You could just see in his eyes and hear in his voice that he was on a mission and that he needed me to work him out with his pitching.
“But he’s such a great person that you become the one that starts to really feel that you need him to pour your knowledge into because he’ll intake it and pass it along to others indeed. I could tell he was a natural.
“He’s a dream to coach. So much passion and raw talent. I’ve had other stellar players I’ve pushed to high places like Jaden Rojas to a high school CIF Championship, and Owen is in that caliber of intensity and dedication.
“We work together so well because he enjoys the work. You have to really love it, be drawn to it. If all you see is a grind, you fall off, but this kid sees the dream and it pushes him onward. That’s special, we have a special connection.”
I delved into getting to know Owen’s relatives for so many multiple hours, such a treat.
Lets hear from his mom Marisa, “My son Owen, he’s always been such a student of the game. He’s a sponge to it all. He will never sacrifice a slow down at baseball even when he’s totally in basketball mode. He’ll do 3-4 practices a day in the summer to stay going at both so neither suffers.
“He’s pure dedication. Of course we’re totally proud of him, like all our kids, but he has this thing about a monster work effort that he just gives freely unto himself. His unselfishness is so awesome for us all to see.”
His dad Frank feels the same way, let’s feel his words, “Owen enjoys the grind. But I think his success comes from his early failure as a really big kid. Maybe not being the best drove him to be that guy. Facing adversity does that.
“When you’re a loving parent, you allow your child to fail at a certain point because it can ignite something in their future. But now? Owen is like let’s go to the gym like everyday dad, I just can’t wait. Success comes from early experiences I think. Owen is a great kid!”
What is Arcadia High with Owen Edwards and his big bro Noa? Think a monster team that now also has a great freshman point guard in Nick Wallace Jr. This new infusion ignites what is already a dizzying array of veteran players that have had great success in the past.
I write and often talk to hoop insiders about possible future changes in the hoop world, like would Taft take the lead from Westchester in the early 2000s, would other city powers vie for dominance the last 10 years.
I wrote about vaunted prep coaches for the ages like Steve Smith of Oak Hill Academy lore, about his life story and who would be the best national powerhouse back in the day. I don’t dip and dodge from anything when asked my opinion on things.
Clcik here for story: Oak Hill Academy - Relationships, Fraternity, Family
Nowadays I take such incredible pride and painstaking measures to calculate who will win boys open division titles with my think tank of brilliant basketball minds and buddy elite trainers, writers, evaluators, and mover and shakers.
I just love to predict who has “next” in regions in terms of boys and girls prep ball future outcomes. I believe Arcadia will attract more talent to its program because who wouldn’t want to play with Owen the connector!
Let’s hear from longtime and extremely well respected Acadia High coach Nick Wallace on Owen, “Our family feels blessed to have known Owen and Noa since they were practically babies. So much respect for all they stand for.
"It’s the authenticity, relationship, trust, and genuine goals they have. We have so much as a team already, and have come so far with so much heart!
"My son Nick Jr. is that energized guy, a kid that could’ve chosen a high profile program, just like Owen could’ve chosen a blue blood program to play for. But we’re all so proud over here that he chose our local Arcadia High!”
Me, E-Woods, I’ve known really well and played 10,000 pick up games with really humble kids like the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez when he was my next door neighbor, Triple J had a super great work ethic like Owen and decided to stay local at our Camarillo High.
DeMar DeRozan is another kid I got to know well and he also stayed local at Compton High. My point is that staying local really does something really big in inspiring local kids to be energized for the immediate area.
Click here for story: Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Paul Pierce - Learning from the TRUTH
Famed legendary writer Frank Burleson has tabbed Arcadia High a top 5 team in their region, and top 50 in the state, no small feat for a non traditional power.
We’ll leave the last quote to Nick Jr, the new point guard who has so much love for Owen, his dad the coach, and Arcadia High, “This team is tight on and off the court, we have a special bond for each other.
"Owen and I? We’re like brothers. I’ve known him since 3rd grade and we’ve been balling together since middle school. The sky is the limit for us all, and we can’t wait to fly together.”
