Journal & Courier Small School Player of the Year: Carroll's Owen Duff

FLORA − Owen Duff, ultimate team player.

Owen Duff, 2023 Journal & Courier Small School Player of the Year.

The laundry list of accomplishments Duff achieved at Carroll ranks him second to none, but it was never about an individual.

"It's not what I came here to do," Duff said. "I came here to get to some regionals, semistates as a team and just make some good runs. That just happens to be what happened along the way."

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Duff leaves as Carroll basketball's career leader in points and assists.

As a senior, he took a step back scoring wise, after averaging nearly 17 points per game over the previous two seasons.

Duff did it because, like he says, it's all about the team.

"Owen allowed himself to do what is best for the team," Carroll coach Adam Tussinger said. "He's not only our leading career points scorer, but he leads our team all-time in assists. I can't imagine that happens at a lot of schools.

"He realized, hey, tonight, this is what I need to do to help our team be successful. His teammates are a huge part of that and he'll be the first to tell you."

So, about that team.

Carroll went 22-5 and repeated as sectional champions. This after winning the program's first regional championship last season.

And though Player of the Year awards are individualized, Duff calls it a team award and one that fellow senior Jake Skinner was every bit as responsible for.

"Playing one on one with him anymore is no fun because we know what the other is going to do," Duff said. "It's hard to score on each other because we know what we're going to do.

"That translates out to the court. I know what he is thinking before he does it and he knows what I am thinking. We can communicate without talking and it makes the game a lot easier."

Both scored more than 1,000 career points and both elevated Carroll basketball to new heights.

"Owen, his basketball IQ, allowed him to flourish in the system with all his teammates around him," Tussinger said. "Two of them, their names are already up on the (1,000 career points) wall. I could go on and say another five, six, seven, guys."

It's true, the Cougars were plenty talented and likely add another 1,000 point scorer from this group to that record board next season.

But Duff made it all work, with his versatility and adaptability.

Now, basketball is over for him. So is soccer, where he's the school's all-time leader in goals scored. And so is baseball.

But not before leaving his mark on all three, individually, as well as the more satisfying team success standpoint.

"He is just a gifted athlete. You can tell in what he's accomplished on the soccer field, obviously the basketball court and the past couple of years with our baseball team as well," Tussinger said. "Everything comes pretty naturally to him, but a big part of that is how much work he puts in."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.