OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Omaha men’s basketball is revamping after its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season.
The Mavs lost their two main offensive weapons, but now senior guard Tony Osburn is set to take the reins.
And with the ever changing college athletics landscape, he stayed put because of his love of competition and the program.
- "I don't think I could leave a place that's done so much for me," Osburn said. Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield recruited him out of high school.
- Crutchfield said Osburn is the leader of the team this year, and is expecting him to be one of the Mavericks' top performers again.
- For now, Osburn is embracing what is most likely his final summer practice session, although he is waiting to see if the NCAA will choose to allow a fifth year of eligibility for athletes.
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Tony Osburn shows up to every practice with a smile on his face.
"Since (I was) a little kid I’ve loved basketball, and I’m getting to do it at the level I’ve wanted to always play," he said. "It’s pretty hard not to be excited and bring joy every day into something where I get to come out and play basketball with my best friends.”
Now in his fourth summer practice session, he’s noticed a major change since his first one.
“My freshman year summer… every day I woke up, I just couldn’t wait to go lay back down and go to bed," Osburn said. "And now I don’t want the days to end because I know they’re numbered. It’s the last summer I’ve got, so just making the most of the summer right now.”
His coaches and teammates have noticed his efforts.
”He’s our leader," coach Chris Crutchfield said. "He’s the guy that’s always yelling and hooping and hollering around, but he’s also making plays for us.”
“When (Osburn's) bringing the heat, everybody’s bringing the heat, and he expects it out of everybody," Rob Matos, a junior guard who transferred to Omaha over the summer, said. "And that’s what you need out of a leader of a team.”
“He’s our quarterback. I’m excited about his year. He’s gonna have a really good year," Crutchfield said.
This all comes after a season where almost 2,700 men’s basketball players entered the transfer portal by the late April deadline, according to ESPN.
In addition, Omaha is opting out of NIL revenue sharing for the 2025-2026 school year.
Regardless, Osburn wants to finish his college career where he started it.
“There’s a lot of options in today’s college basketball," Osburn said, "but there was a dude that took a chance on me when I was a senior in high school and I don’t think I could leave a place that’s done so much for me.”
With the team that made school history and wants to make more.
“One day I’m gonna bring my kids back, ten years, five years from now," Osburn said. "We’re gonna look up and we’re gonna see the banner from last year, and hopefully another one soon.”
