Osaghae gives Panthers tough post presence
They call him “O,” but it’s his “D” that stands out.
His name is Osasumwen Osaghae, which in a Nigerian language means “God Leads Me.”
Osaghae, FIU’s 6-9 235-pound junior center, is also leading the way, perched atop Conference USA’s list of shot-blockers with 2.9 swats per game and also first in offensive rebounds with 3.4. Nationally, he ranks ninth in blocks per game.
On Saturday, in a 75-74 loss to Old Dominion, Osaghae had six blocks. Everyone else in that game — on both teams — combined for just five blocks.
“He helps us tremendously,” FIU point guard Brian Beard said of Osaghae, a Miami native of Nigerian descent. “We know we can pressure the ball, and if somebody gets past us … having ‘O’ back there, it’s confidence for us.
“Once he blocks the shot, it leads to fast breaks, layups, threes. We love it when O gets a block, and we can reward him on the other end with a dunk.”
Osaghae, who went to Robert Morgan charter school and played high school basketball at Miami Southridge before arriving at FIU, gets a lot of dunks and layups, which is why he leads the Panthers in shooting percentage (.636).
Earlier this season, however, he was on the bench, missing three games because of a bone contusion. He became a starter three games ago. Since then, he is averaging 4.7 blocks per contest.
“I played through the bone contusion for my first six or seven games of the season,” said Osaghae, who is studying business management.
Osaghae is averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds in 19.6 minutes this season.
There was one rebound, however, that nobody on the FIU team got, and that’s why the team got beat by Old Dominion on Saturday.
FIU was leading 74-73 before ODU’s Dajour Dickens stunned them with a game-winning put-back with just 1.1 seconds left.
That left FIU with an 11-6 record overall, 2-2 in conference. Despite that tough loss, it’s still a good start for first-year FIU coach Jeremy Ballard, who inherited a team that went 14-18 and 8-10 last season.
FIU has 10 regularseason games remaining, including the next three in a row on the road.
The Panthers play a wide-open style on offense, but their defense is usually there to bail them out when shots aren’t falling.
That was the case recently for Beard, who is third in the league in scoring (19.6) but endured a brutal two-game shooting slump last week in which he shot just 3-for-28 from the floor.
“I would never lose confidence,” Beard told the Herald in an interview that took place before the Old Dominion game. “I’m not too worried. I know I will break out of it.”
Sure enough, Beard had 28 points and 10 assists against ODU for just his second career doubledouble.
Beard, who is second on FIU’s all-time list for assists behind Carlos Arroyo and fourth in steals, made 8-of-15 shots against ODU, including 3-of-6 on three-pointers. He also made 9-of-12 on free throws and had four steals.
Overall this season, Beard leads the nation in steals per game (3.5) and ranks 14th in assists (6.5).
THIS AND THAT
Forward Santiago Patino became the highest-drafted player in FIU soccer history when Orlando City made him the third overall selection in last week’s MLS SuperDraft.
FIU’s 2019 football schedule, released last week, will feature the Miami Hurricanes and four more 2018 bowl teams, including Middle Tennessee; Marshall (which beat South Florida in its bowl); Louisiana Tech (which beat Hawaii); and Tulane (which beat Louisiana).
Of the 12 games on FIU’s schedule, only three will be played outside of South Florida.