The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • C4

4C 2017 E1 INDY STAR Japan. The BIG3 has been an interesting summer diversionfor basketball fans looking for an outlet. The events are played at NBA arenas (though this weekend it will be at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago). The games are televised on Fox Sports 1 and the teams include names like Allen Iverson (the and captain of team), Mahmoud Abdul- Rauf, Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby, Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson, Wells and many others with NBA experience. Owens, a 2000 Indiana All-Star at Perry Meridian, was a three-year standout at the University of Houston following a transfer from Indiana after his freshman season in 2000-01.

He cracked an NBA roster in 2005-06 with the Utah Jazz, with whom he played 23 games. Owens made it back with the hometown Pacers in 2007-08 and played 31 games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.5 assists. After a long professional career, Owens was ready to move on to a new chapter. He moved back to the Geist area a year ago and started a towing company. But basketball certainly was not completely out of his blood.

business was doing very well, but I was still working out and he said. the only way I know how to live. I like to work out and stay in shape. never smoked and never drank. I drink soda, either.

I really take care of my body so I feel like Iverson drafted Owens with the No. 2pick in the BIG3 draft behind Rashad McCants, whose team also features Kenyon Martin and Al Harrington. During a recent interview, the 42-year-old Iverson said Owens is capable of getting back to the NBA. is truly a campaign for Iverson said of Owens in a televised interview. was telling him in the locker room that he needs to take this seriously because all eyes are going to be on this thing.

This is the only basketball being played in the summer, so scouts, coaches and everybody is going to see it. Get out there and take advantage of it. why I give him the minutes that I give him. not going to take his Julius Erving and Clyde Drexler, other former NBA stars involved with the league as coaches, have also been quick to praise Owens. good to hear guys like that saying, guy needs to be in the Owens said.

an honor. I pride myself on being a hard worker and keeping my craft tight. a blessing to hear that from those Even if the NBA does not come calling again, Owens said he is more than happy to keep playing on the BIG3 circuit. There are four more regular- season weeks (the closest is Aug. 6 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.) followed by playoffs in Seattle on Aug.

20 and the championship on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas. been a lot of Owens said. like an All-Star weekend. A lot of celebrities come to watch us play and intense.

like real basketball. probably even harder than five-on-five. You hide on defense and you have to be able to score. If you score, you are Owens spoke to a group of high school players last week at the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Top 100 Underclass Showcase at Ben Davis. He relayed the message he would have wanted to hear when he was in those shoes 17 years ago.

want them to know that no matter what, you never give up on your he said. sky is the limit. I was one of those guys way back then. Keep your dreams in Call IndyStar reporter Kyle Neddenriepat (317) 444-6649. Owens Continued from 1C MATT Andre Owens, a 2000 Indiana All-Star at Perry Meridian, was a three-year standout at Houston following a transfer from IU after his freshman season in 2000-01.

LONDON After Roger Federer closed out a Wimbledon final that was more of a coronation than a contest with an ace, he sat in his changeover chair and wiped away tears. That is when it hit him: His wait for record-breaking No. 8 was over. Until then, Federer focused on the notion of winning the grass-court tournament more often than any other man in the history of an event first held in 1877. All been concerned with, consumed with, was being healthy enough to compete at a high level and, he hoped, to win a title, regardless of what the total count would be.

Capping a marvelous fortnight in which he never dropped a set, Federer won his eighth Wimbledon trophy and 19th Grand Slam championship overall by overwhelming Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in merely 1 hour, 41 minutes Sunday. was always my favorite tournament. Will always be my favorite tournament. My heroes walked the grounds here and walked the courts here. Because of them, I think I became a better player, said Federer, who will turn 36 next month and is the oldest male champion at the All England Club in the Open era, which began in 1968.

mark history here at Wimbledon really means a lot to me just because of all of that, he said. that His first major title came at Wimbledon in 2003, and was followed by others in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He won again in 2009 and 2012. But then he lost finals in 2014 and 2015 to Novak Djokovic. He be sure another final, let alone title, was possible a year ago, when he lost in the semifinals, then took the rest of 2016 off to let his surgically repaired left knee heal.

been a long he said. outcome was only in doubt for about 20 minutes, the amount of time it took Federer to grab his first lead. Cilic said afterward he developed a painful blister on his left foot during his semifinal Friday, and that affected his ability to move properly or summon the intimidating serves that carried him to his lone Grand Slam title at the 2014 U.S. Open, where he surprisingly beat Federer in the semifinals. This one was all Federer, who had been tied at seven championships with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw in still officially called Singles.

Sampras won all but one of his in the 1990s; Renshaw won each of his in the 1880s, when the previous winner advanced automatically to the final. With clouds overhead and a bit of chill in the air Sunday, early play was symptomatic of jitters. For everything accomplished, for all of the bright lights and big settings to which become accustomed, the guy many have labeled the Greatest of All Time admits to feeling heavy legs and jumbled thoughts to this day. It was Federer, not Cilic, who double- faulted in his first two service games. And it was Federer, not Cilic, who faced the initial break point, in the fourth game.

But Cilic netted a return, beginning a run of 17 points in a row won by Federer on his serve. He would never be confronted with another break point. gave it my Cilic said. all I could In the next game, Federer broke to lead 3-2. He broke again to take that set when Cilic double-faulted, walked to the changeover and slammed his racket.

Cil- ic sat and covered his head with a white towel. With Federer up 3-0 in the second set, Cilic cried while he was visited by a doctor and trainer. He said that was not so much a result of his pain as the idea that he could not play well enough to present a challenge. tough said Cilic, whose foot was re-taped by a trainer after the second set. knew that I cannot give my best on the It might not have mattered.

Federer was, as been all tournament, flawless, the first man in 41 years to win Wimbledon without ceding a set. Against Cil- ic, he had 23 winners, only eight unforced errors. This caps a remarkable reboot for Federer, who departed Wimbledon a year ago with a lot of doubts: His body was letting him down for the first time in his career. He skipped the Rio Olympics, the U.S. Open and everything else in an attempt to try to get healthy.

It worked. And how. Feeling refreshed and fully fit, Federer returned to the tour in January and was suddenly playing like the guy of old, rather than like an old guy. In a turn-back-the-clock moment, he faced rival Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final and, with a fifth-set comeback, won. It was 18th Grand Slam title, adding to his own record, and first in years.

Those who had written Federer off needed to grab their erasers. The formula made sense, clearly, so why not try it again? Federer skipped this clay-court circuit to be in top shape for the grass courts he loves so dearly. victory made Federer 31-2 in 2017, with a tour-leading five titles. one side, yes, it surprises me. On the other side, I know able to do so many things.

So not coach Severin Luthi said. when it happens, Yes, Federer is back to being supreme in tennis, lording over the sport the way no man has. not, of course, the same 21-year- old kid who had a ponytail and scruff when he beat Mark Philippoussis in the 2003 Wimbledon final. Or the teen who, two years earlier, beat Sampras himself at Centre Court in the fourth round, their only tour-level meeting. hair is cropped, his face clean shaven.

a father of four, and both sets of twins boys, 3, in their light blue blazers; girls, 7, in their dresses were in the guest box for trophy ceremony. One son stuck a couple of fingers in his mouth until a sister grabbed his hand. have no clue going on. They think probably a nice view and a nice playground. But not quite like that here, so one day, hopefully, Federer said about his boys.

As for the girls, he said: enjoy to watch a little bit. They come for the finals, I When Dad is Roger Federer, you can wait until the last Sunday to show up. WIMBLEDON Federer stands alone in record book HOWARD FENDRICH ASSOCIATED PRESS DANIEL Roger Federer needed just 1 hour, 41 minutes to claim his trophy Sunday. putt on No. 18 to pull even with Rodgers.

Rodgers then had a par putt on No. 17 lip out, and sent his tee shot on 18 into the rough. Wesley Bryan (64) and Rick Lamb (66) tied for third at 16 under, and past tournament champions Steve Stricker (64) and Zach Johnson (67) topped the group at 15 under. DeChambeau played the front nine in even par, then birdied six of the final nine holes to surge to the top of the leaderboard. Rodgers, on the other hand, had four bogeys and his approach on No.

18 sailed past the green. Rodgers nearly chipped in from 50 feet to force a playoff, missing the cup by a foot. DeChambeau became the 10th first-time winner on the PGA Tour this season. tendency when you have the lead is to kind of hold on and play safe and guard against making mistakes. But I had guys coming at me with some really low rounds.

Obviously Bryson shot a great said Rodgers, who remained winless on the PGA Tour. Bryan, who won the RBC Heritage for his first career victory in April, shot a 30 on the back nine. Lamb was 13 under for the final two rounds but was done in by pedestrian efforts in the first two rounds. Stricker, who won at TPC Deere Run from 2009-11, grabbed a share of the lead before Rodgers teed off Sunday. Stricker, 50, went 8-under par through 14 holes to jump all the way up from 34th place.

But only bogey came on the 18th hole, when his par putt grazed the cup. if I could have made a couple more birdies there and could have got it to 18-under, who knows? Just get it in Stricker said. Johnson, who won the tournament in 2012 and has finished in the top three six times in his last eight appearances, challenged the leaders yet again before falling back. Johnson picked up bogeys on a pair of par 4s on the back nine, and he missed a 4- foot birdie putt on 14. goal was to birdie every hole and give myself a chance on every hole.

Early on it looked like my game plan was being Johnson said. DeChambeau Continued from 1C Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller landed the first new commitment of his tenure Sunday and filled his roster. Race Thompson, a 6-8 forward from Minneapolis, announced his commitment to the Hoosiers via Twitter on Sunday evening. A source confirmed to IndyStar that Thompson intends to reclassify from the class of 2018 to 2017 and will enroll starting in the fall. and excited to announce my commitment to further my education and basketball career at Indiana he wrote.

to everyone who has helped me along the Thompson becomes the first recruit to commit to program, not counting the three sig- nees Miller reaffirmed following the coaching change in the spring. Thompson visited IU in June and had for some time been considered a top frontcourt target for Miller and his staff in 2018. The four-star recruit (247Sports.com) also held offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Arizona State, Michigan, Baylor and others. Now he will join the Hoosiers a year early. His arrival means Indiana will fill its final open scholarship for next season, which was available after three players left for the NBA and Grant Gelon transferred.

Thompson fills final IU roster spot ZACH OSTERMAN ZACH.OSTERMAN@INDYSTAR.COM Race Thompson.