LaMar Owen doesn’t know it, but he’s a walking contradiction.

If it wasn’t for his height, you may never know the 185-pound Owen was a basketball player, let alone a power forward.

Sure, at 6-foot-5 Owen is taller than most college students, but in a game that has been traditionally dominated by taller athletes at his position, his height is the norm, not the exception.

And playing for a team and in a conference that thrives on physicality, Owen, at first glance, seems to be out of place.

That is exactly what he wants his opponents to think.

In the Missouri Valley Conference, Owen will more than likely always be matched up against someone bigger, but at the same time, his opponents will probably never face anyone whose style of play resembles his.

Owen uses his guard-like quickness to get around opponents, and his explosive jumping ability – he can touch the top of the backboard square – to leap over them.

Even former teammate Sylvester Willis, who was initially skeptical of Owen’s ability to play power forward, was blown away by his energetic style.

“I figured he had to play like that with him being so skinny,” Willis said. “He isn’t going to overpower anybody. I guess he knows where he has to butter his bread.”

Owen throws his body around in the paint and willingly subjects himself to pain with a reckless habit of diving for loose balls, which leaves most people momentarily breathless and sends the Dawg Pound into an uproar.

Owen’s dark red elbows are permanent indications of his relentless hustle, and there’s no telling how many scars lie beneath his game socks, which seem to extend to his waist.

“He’s reckless abandon,” said head coach Chris Lowery. “He just doesn’t care. He just wants to win.”

Owen’s passion for winning is evident in the amount of energy he expends during the course of a game, which may also be the reason he’s able to bounce right up after his self-induced collisions with the hardwood floor.

If Owen is the Salukis’ heartbeat, his energy is their pulse. He feeds off the crowd, and the more energy he feels from Saluki fans, the greater his intensity.

And the source of that energy is a lot simpler than you might think.

“I feel that Corn Flakes are the reason I keep going like I am,” Owen said.

Owen eats four to five bowls of cereal a day, and he said his cravings have woken him up occasionally in the middle of the night.

“The boy can eat some cereal and milk,” said roommate and teammate Kyle Smithpeters. “He can kill some milk. We go through a lot of milk, that’s for sure. Lots of gallons.”

Lowery, on the other hand, traces Owen’s unlimited energy back to his days at Owensboro High School in Kentucky, specifically the soccer field.

Owen put up 18.5 points and 11 rebounds a game his senior season at Owensboro. He was even better on the soccer field and was, in fact, named Mr. Soccer for the state of Kentucky.

“That’s why he never gets tired,” Lowery said. “He’s just so used to running around.”

No matter the explanation, Owen’s tireless work ethic and team-first attitude helped the Salukis to their fourth-straight 4-0 start, including wins against two NCAA Tournaments teams from a year ago – Vanderbilt and Texas El-Paso.

Defending MVC Player of the Year Darren Brooks will absorb the bulk of the opposition’s attention this season, and Owen will be one of the players ready to capitalize – just ask Vanderbilt.

Owen burned the Commodores with a career-high 21 points and ripped down 10 rebounds for his third career double-double.

Owen averaged 13 points and seven rebounds in the Las Vegas Invitational, while shooting 56 percent from the field. He was named to the Las Vegas All-Tournament team, and his early season breakout earned him the first MVC Player of the Week honor Monday.

“He plays like he’s 6’8″, 240 at times against bigger guys,” Lowery said. “It’s amazing the things he gets done with the size of his body.”

Last season, Owen received Sixth Man of the Year honors and was named to the All-Newcomer and All-Bench teams after averaging 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18 minutes a game.

This season, with the departures of Willis, Brad Korn and Bryan Turner, Owen’s role has been upgraded from supporting cast member to one of the leading characters.

How far the Salukis’ season extends is largely dependent on how well Owen transitions into his starting role and his ability to mentor his younger teammates.

He had been connecting on all cylinders this season, but struggled offensively in the Salukis’ loss to Hawaii Monday.

Owen grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots but scored just two points – both from the free-throw line – and shot 0-for-6 from the field.

Monday’s game notwithstanding, Owen has blossomed into the Salukis’ third leading scorer but, in his soft-spoken nature, deflects all individual success onto his teammates.

“We try to look for each other and not be greedy with the ball,” Owen said. “They just hit me at the right points.”

But in at least one instance last season, Owen wasn’t so modest.

Owen averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 boards a game at Southeastern Illinois College, and Creighton head basketball coach Dana Altman, as well as Evansville, vied for his services.

And after scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting in a Feb. 2 68-60 victory against the Bluejays, Owen said what Altman was probably thinking.

“I told him, ‘You wish you had me, don’t ya?'” Owen said.

They all wish they did.