ASHLAND – Ashland University senior guard Boo Osborne remembers playing ball from a very young age, and most of his memories center around his dad.
“My dad was always the cornerstone for me and basketball,” Osborne said.
His dad, Roosevelt, coached Boo’s youth basketball teams, but he also is the boy’s basketball coach at Centennial High School in Columbus. Some athletes struggle with their dad as coach, but for the Osbornes, it seemed to work.
“Stuff that happened in practice between me and him would always carry over back home so I couldn’t just leave it. He was constantly talking about the game and I was always trying to get away from him,” Boo said. “But it made us closer and we understood each other more. He would trust me more with the ball and trust me to make plays when I had to, so it was fun.”
Osborne’s brother, Isaiah, is two years older and played college ball at Heidelberg.
“We always had a sibling rivalry, and it still is, deep down inside,” Boo said.
Although Boo (whose real name is Elias – the nickname comes from his parents thinking he looked like Buddha when he was a baby) was two grades behind Isaiah, Boo’s talent allowed him to play with older kids, so the brothers often played on the same team.
“I learned a lot from him. He was more of a shooter and then he became a driver. But I was more of a driver and then I learned how to shoot so we reversed roles,” Osborne said. “My brother was really good. If he really kept playing and put more of his mind to it, he could possibly be playing overseas right now.”
At Centennial, Osborne was a four-year varsity letter winner, earning honorable mention all-city and all district honors as a sophomore. Osborne’s dazzling stats and magnificent moves on the hard court attracted a lot of attention from Division I colleges. Lehigh offered him a scholarship before his junior year of high school but they wanted him to commit within a week.
“I said can we wait a little bit so I can explore different things. The head coach said no. So I didn’t go there but every other school thought I committed,” Osborne said.
He was a two-time all-city and all-district honoree, honorable mention All-Metro and special mention all-state as a junior and first-team All-Metro and third-team all-state as a senior.
Following his senior year, he visited some more Division I schools including Canisius College and San Diego, but circumstances continued to keep him from being able to sign on the dotted line.
After declining several Division II offers, Osborne was at the point of deciding between going to prep school or enrolling at Cleveland State as a walk-on when the door to Ashland University opened.
Wendell Davis, a basketball player from Reynoldsburg who had signed with AU, called Osborne after school was out and said the coach wanted Osborne to come to Ashland to play.
“I was like where’s that at. I didn’t know where Ashland was at,” Osborne admitted with a laugh.
In spite of that ignorance about the school’s location, Davis convinced Osborne to pay a visit to the AU campus, and Osborne was quickly won over.
“The food was good. The people were good. I knew three o the five guys in our freshman class. I knew Jett (Speelman who played two seasons at AU before transferring to Dennison) since I was in second grade. I knew Wendell since second grade. I knew Adrian (Cook) from basketball since middle school. So I knew everybody that was coming here so I just made the decision to come,” Osborne said.
During his freshman season, Osborne was in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season before coach John Ellenwood decided he needed Boo to come off the bench and provide a spark.
“Freshman year I was just trying to find my niche,” Osborne said. “Coach wanted some energy off the bench, and that was fine with me. So I came off the bench and just tried to provide some energy. So since that time, that’s just been my role. I’m the guy that starts everything – emotionally and physically. I feel like I’ve found my place.”
Last year, Osborne led the team in 3-pointers, free throw percentage and steals. He was named to the All-GLIAC second team and the All-GLIAC Defensive Team. He averaged 12 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He tied the school record for steals with seven in a game.
Together with Davis and Cook, Osborne led the Eagles to the NCAA playoffs, ending a 25-year drought. With the team’s three top players returning for their senior years, expectations were high. Then Davis suffered an offseason injury, forcing him to redshirt and sit out the entire season.
Davis had lead the team in scoring and rebounding the past two seasons and also led the team in assists last season.
The loss of Davis has forced several players, including Osborne, to step up and play different roles.
“Last year we were a tag team. Off the court, he still has some input. On the court, now, I’m more a solo leader now so it just puts more responsibility on me to get the team in the right direction,” Osborne said.
Ellenwood praised Osborne’s hard work and dedication, which have made him a natural leader for the team.
“As a pre-med major, Boo has had a difficult academic work load, but, still is able to find extra time to work on his skills in the gym. His leadership and desire has helped this program reach new heights and has helped set a higher standard for all the players that follow him here at Ashland,” Ellenwood said.
Ellenwood said Osborne’s knowledge of the game is perhaps the most impressive thing about Osborne.
“Boo has been an outstanding player for our program both on and off the court. He has been one of the toughest and smartest players I have ever coached” Ellenwood said. “Boo’s I.Q. is off the charts. He has a unique ability to remember every detail of a scouting report and game-plan even if it was from a team we played years ago.”
This year, Osborne is averaging 8.9 points per game and grabbing 4.9 boards per game and 2.2 assists. He’s fourth on the team in scoring, fourth in assists and second in rebounding.
“I feel like we’re more of a balanced team this year. Offensively, anybody can go get 20 points any game, it just depends on the game,” he said.
Osborne led the team in scoring in the season opening win at Wooster with 20 points. In the 10 games since then, four different players have led the team in scoring.
The Eagles opened the season 6-1 before struggling through a four-game losing streak heading into tonight’s non-conference game at home against Thiel.
“We’ve got to play with a passion. Last year, we all were on the same page emotionally. This year, we have a lot more people have a lot more responsibility this year and we just have to be held accountable for that responsibility,” Osborne said.
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