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View Full Version : Capel Welcomes Mississippi State Transfer Romero Osby



JLEW1818
5/17/2010, 06:24 PM
May 17, 2010

Forward was a top-75 recruit out of high school and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Jeff Capel announced today that Romero Osby is transferring to OU from Mississippi State.

Osby, a 6-8, 245-pound forward who just completed his sophomore season at MSU, will sit out the 2010-11 campaign due to transfer rules and then have two years of eligibility remaining as a Sooner. Last year, Osby averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. As a freshman, he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 boards in 12.6 minutes per contest.

"We're very excited and very fortunate to get a guy like Romero," said Capel on Monday. "He's a kid with a lot of talent and, as important, a kid with tremendous character. Through two years of college, he already has the number of credit hours that a kid who finished his junior year would probably have. That shows you how committed he is as a student. And I think he's just as committed on the court.

"I think this will be the rebirth of Romero Osby. He was not really able to show a lot of the things he can do in his two years at Mississippi State. We recruited him out of high school and I loved him. I'm excited about the opportunity to coach him, about the opportunity for him to help us right away next year in practice and about the opportunity for us to help him improve his game individually."

Osby, who turned 20 earlier this month, shot .462 from the field, .410 (16-for-39) from 3-point range and .634 (26-for-41) from the free throw line this past season for a Bulldogs squad that lost in the second round of the NIT. He started three games on the year (against Kentucky, Auburn and LSU in February) and posted season highs of 13 points and seven rebounds in December against DePaul. Osby scored a career-high 15 points as a freshman against North Alabama and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds in his collegiate debut against Centenary.

Added Capel, "Romero's very athletic and strong, and is a guy who can play multiple positions. He can shoot the ball from outside. He can play some on the wing and he can also be a skilled four-man. I anticipate him rebounding at a very high rate. I remember from high school how tough he was, how hard he played and how athletic he was. He was very versatile. You didn't see those things at Mississippi State, and I think part of it was confidence.

"I think sitting out this coming year is going to be huge in rebuilding that confidence and getting him back to being a basketball player like he was in high school."

Osby attended Northeast Lauderdale High School in Meridian, Miss., where he was a two-time first-team all-state selection and a highly touted prospect. He was rated No. 57 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 70 by Scout.com.

As a senior at North Lauderdale, he averaged 22.4 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 3.9 assists per game while shooting .528 from the field and .664 from the foul line. He posted a double-double in all but one game as a senior and recorded a triple-double (21 points, 14 boards, 10 blocks) against Wayne County in the Division 5-4A championship game.

A broadcast communication major at Mississippi State, Osby was named to the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll in 2009.

http://soonersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051710aab.html