Don’t expect Warren senior guard Owen Squires to complain about the 3-point trend in basketball.
For Squires, it’s a matter of simple arithmetic.
“Why take two points when you can get three?” he said. “I love to shoot the basketball. It doesn’t get much better than seeing the ball go through the net.”
That’s a common occurrence for Squires, even though he comes off the bench for a team that features players like super sophomore Jaxson Davis. Squires is shooting 42% from beyond the arc, and he often makes an impact soon after his name is called.
To say that Squires goes on the court hunting for his shot would be an understatement.
“I told him he has the green light when he’s open,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said. “When he’s in the game and his teammates get him the ball, he’s a difference-maker.
“Everyone knows he’s a shooter. But he’s also a good passer, and the last few weeks he’s stepped up on defense.”
Indeed, with Squires hitting 3-pointers left and right, it’s easy to overlook the fact that he’s not just a shooter. As Ryan suggested, Squires has worked hard to earn minutes for more than his shooting acumen.
“I do what’s best for the team,” Squires said. “I can come in and hit shots, and that helps spread the floor. But I pride myself on playing good defense, communicating with the other guys on the floor, helping keep everyone out there focused.”
Opponents identify Squires, often very loudly, when he’s at the scorer’s table, and for good reason. He has hit a team-high 55 3-pointers this season while averaging 7.7 points.
Squires can heat up in a hurry too. He made three 3-pointers in the second half against Waubonsie Valley on Saturday as the Blue Devils (21-10, 9-5) tried to climb back before losing 60-56, and he single-handedly erased Waukegan’s sizable lead in the second quarter of a North Suburban Conference game on Jan. 28 with four 3-pointers in the period.
“That was an amazing feeling,” Squires said of his flurry against Waukegan. “To me, there’s no better feeling than knowing that you’re helping your team. Even though we didn’t end up winning, I felt like I played my part.”
Training for moments like that began many years ago for Squires. Long before he was making big shots for Warren under the bright lights in consequential varsity games, he was wearing out the net of the miniature hoop in his bedroom.
“That actually was very helpful,” Squires said. “I used to spend hours a day shooting and going through game scenarios in my head.”
Warren senior guard Andrew Watson has seen Squires’ shooting ability up close for many years, going all the way back to recess in third grade. They’ve played AAU basketball together, as well, so Watson knows what Squires can do with the ball in his hands.
“We put up a lot of points when he shoots well because it’s hard to guard everybody,” Watson said. “No matter what the situation is, we know he can spark us. There can be two people on him, people in his face, guarding him eye to eye, and there’s still a good chance it’ll go in.”
Squires’ success is particularly meaningful to him given his limited role last season, when he had a bout of mononucleosis and was mostly a spectator as the Blue Devils reached a Class 4A supersectional. Warren, which is seeded second in the Waukegan Sectional, begins the 2025 postseason on Wednesday with a game against seventh-seeded Grant in the McHenry Regional semifinals.
“Our main goal last year was to go downstate, and that’s what we’re still gunning for,” Squires said. “We can go wherever we want to go because of the level of talent we have, but we have to play well together.
“Obviously, everyone wants to play the whole game. But as long as I can play a part in us winning, that’s all that matters.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
