He was a lanky freshman playing on a team that belonged to a North Carolina-bound senior when Carlisle won its first state title.

Three years later, Billy Owens was a 6-foot-9 man among boys when the Thundering Herd won their fourth straight PIAA Class 4A boys’ basketball crown.

It’s been 30 years since the last title, and no one has come close to matching Owens’ feats.


He is one of four players in Pennsylvania boys’ basketball history to surpass 3,000 points in a career.

He owns a 20-0 record in PIAA playoff games in what was then the largest classification.

He is the best boys’ basketball player to come out of District 3 and one of the best from the state.


Fans of central Pa. boys’ basketball have seen their share of good players since Owens played, but he is the one they should be measured against. He was regarded as the No. 2 player in the country his senior year behind some guy named Mourning.

It wasn’t until the last game of his high school career that Owens showed basketball fans what he was truly capable of doing.

Owens promised a show against Pittsburgh Central Catholic, which came in as the fourth seed from District 7. That Carlisle was going to win its fourth straight title was never in question.

How many points would Billy score? How many dunks would he throw down?

They were the questions.

The answers: 53 and seven.

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The previous high for points scored in a state championship was 38 by Reading’s Stu Jackson in 1973. Owens nearly outscored Central Catholic in Carlisle’s 80-54 win.

And like every other game Owens played at Carlisle, there could have been more points; there could have been more dunks.

But if you spent any time around Owens, it was clear that team and community were as important to him as his stats.

He was unselfish as a teammate, often passing the ball off to someone in better position instead of pushing for a score for himself.

He was a dream for reporters. Maybe it had something to do with many more wins than losses, but Owens was easy to talk to. He answered questions the best he could. He took the time to sit down so he was at eye level with reporters a foot shorter.

Owens grew a community. Granted, the seeds were planted as Jeff Lebo came up through the program, but he was the one who cultivated and harvested the crop.

Sold-out, standing-room-only crowds were the norm, not just at home, but also on the road. It was even tough for then-Gov. Bob Casey Sr. to get a ticket when his son, Matt, was on the other team.

Not even playing in the larger confines of the old barn that is Hersheypark Arena made it easy to get a ticket for state finals.


Abington Heights defeated Northeastern, 76-56, in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal Friday, March 16, 2018 at Pottsville's Martz Hall. The loss ended the high school career for Northeastern's four senior starters. Jim Seip, YDR

It was common knowledge that Carlisle fans would make the trek to the opposing school to buy tickets. Brashear, the Thundering Herd’s first victim, admitted that it sold more of its school’s allotment to Carlisle fans than to its own.

More than 9,000 fans packed the old barn for Owens’ last high school game. And it seemed that they and others quickly made the trek back to Carlisle to welcome the team.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Owens closed out his career with Carlisle. Thirty years of the next great player, but never the next Billy Owens.

Shelly Stallsmith was sports editor of The Sentinel in Carlisle for the last of the Thundering Herd's four state titles.