By: Mitchell Cutcher, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb- When Derrin Hansen and the Omaha athletic department parted ways at the end of the 2022 basketball season this left lots of questions for incoming guard, Tony Osburn.
For Osburn he was worried that the new staff would come in and clean house, as this can be the case for programs when a new person is put in charge. Shortly after it was announced that Hansen had been let go the first person to get into contact with him was Omaha Athletic Director, Adrian Dowell. Osburn said that Dowell reassured him that Omaha still wanted him.
“I just wasn’t sure if there would still be a spot, said Osburn. “You know a new staff, sometimes they clear house, but I knew this was where I wanted to be.”
Following his first phone call with new head coach, Chris Crutchfield Osburn was told that the new staff wanted him here and “We ended up in probably the best-case scenario that could have happened in that situation.” Coach Crutchfield is the type of coach that likes players that can shoot and score. Osburn is right when he says “best-case scenario,’ because he will fit into the new scheme Crutchfield is looking to employ at Omaha.
That scheme that Coach Crutchfield wants at Omaha involves bringing in the right kids and putting in place the right culture here at Omaha. These were points of selling from Crutchfield when he first met with Osburn. Crutchfield said that in Osburn he sees a player can score at all levels from the floor, but most importantly he can shoot and Crutchfield likes his guys that can shot the ball.
“I remember driving down there and meeting with his mom and dad,” said Coach Crutchfield. “Being able to sit-down with them and had to explain our philosophy and how we were going to use Tony. We basically had to re-recruit him.”
Osburn said he is enjoying the changes that come with moving to a new city and playing college basketball. Most importandly he is looking forward to the start of his first college basketball season and getting back into games.
