City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Owen Verna grew up as something of a fish out of water. 

The son of two Southeast Pennsylvania natives, Verna was born in Georgia and grew up in Florida and Southern California. He was raised to be a Philadelphia sports fan, repping the Eagles in Falcons territory, the Phillies in Dodgerland. 

“That’s how I was raised, I didn’t have a choice,” he said, adding: “It’s been lonely.”

But Verna always had ties around the City of Brotherly Love, and when his recruitment hit Division I levels, he had eyes on coming back to the area his family was from, even if “back” isn’t a word that truly fits his situation.

However you want to word it, there’s no doubt that when the Mater Dei (Cali.) rising senior steps onto Saint Joseph’s campus next fall, he won’t feel like he’s thousands of miles from home; he’ll feel like he’s already there.

A 6-foot-3 (and change) combo guard, Verna had a couple Big 5 opportunities, with Penn extending a roster spot offer, but he elected to take a scholarship from St. Joe’s instead.

Verna committed to Billy Lange’s program at the end of last month, making his pledge June 26 while on an official visit to Hawk Hill and announcing it publicly the following day. He said he had a feeling before heading onto the visit that a commitment might be coming; seeing the school and its facilities and getting Lange’s pitch sealed the deal.

“I knew there was definitely a chance but I wanted to see exactly what the school was like, and the basketball,” he said. “After the first day, I was like, I want to go here, it’s a perfect fit.”

“One selling point was my family being really close and growing up, knowing about St. Joe’s,” he said. “I feel like I fit into the offense great, too; I’m a shooting guard, and they run three guards at a time on the offense so I feel like it was just the best fit for me basketball-wise and school-wise.”

Putting on a Hawks uniform will be something new for Verna, who admittedly grew up a Villanova fan, the Ryan Arcidacono-led Wildcats teams of the mid-2010s his introduction to big-time college hoops. Those teams inspired Verna, then in elementary school, to focus on basketball as his only sport, forgoing all others seriously in pursuit of hardwood dreams.

By middle school, it was clear Verna had talent, according to Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight, who’s won more than 1,200 games in a 42-year run with the Monarchs. McKnight first coached Verna as a 6th grader with his “Big Red” summer program, then with Mater Dei when Verna enrolled in the Santa Ana (Cali.) prep school as a freshman.

“They’re getting a great kid, not only as a player and a student, but he’s a solid individual, captain of our team,” McKnight said. “He’s a good one, he’s one of the better ones we’ve had over the years and I’m so happy for him.

“He can play the ‘2’ man, he can play the ‘1’ man,” McKnight added, “and the one thing about Owen is, he’s so strong. He goes to the basket and people just fly out of the way because of his build.”

Verna’s been a four-year starter for McKnight, averaging 14 points per game on 48% from the field and 45.5% from 3-point range as a junior, Mater Dei’s season ending in an overtime loss to St. John Bosco in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I Regional Final, one game shy of the state championship game. 

He’s spent the last two offseasons playing on the Nike EYBL with Strive for Greatness, which is currently competing in the Nike championships at the Peach Jam. Playing alongside Bryce James, the younger son of LeBron James, as well as ESPN’s No. 11 prospect Brayden Burries and other high-major talent, Verna’s flashed his scoring ability already this week with a 16-point, five-assist game against Team Herro (Wisc.), where he went 6-of-13 from the floor (3-6 3PT). 

Having played for both a high-profile high school program and on the grassroots circuit, Verna’s no stranger to big crowds and the added attention from social media that follows them around. 

“It gets stressful sometimes but I enjoy it,” he said. “As a competitor, I want to be able to show what I can show off. Every game is an opportunity, that’s how I think of it. I don’t mind having the eyes on me all the time, I’m used to it by now.”

Verna’s joining a Hawks program that’s been steadily improving under Lange, who’s going into his sixth year after previous stints as an assistant at Villanova (2011-13) and with the 76ers (2013-19). The St. Joe’s men have gone from six wins in 2019-20 to 11 in 2021-12, a 16-win season in 2022-23 and then their best campaign in a decade, a 21-14 (9-9 Atlantic 10) slate in 2023-24 which saw them also finish inside the top 100 on the KenPom rankings at No. 99. 

With senior guard Erik Reynolds II back in the fold along with breakout sophomore Xzayvier Brown, versatile forward Rasheer Fleming and more, the Hawks have their eyes on increasing that win total once again. Verna’s fully intent on keeping that rolling once he arrives in town. 

“They have a bunch of guys, they should have a great team this year,” Verna said. “Knowing that (the program) is improving every year is exciting for me and pretty important, because I want to play on a high-level team that’s going to win games.”