April 23, 2003
Duquesne University head men's basketball coach Danny Nee today announced that Martin Osimani (Montevideo, Uruguay/Champagnat (Miami, Fla.) HS/Miami-Dade Community College), a 6-3, 205-pound point guard from Miami-Dade Community College, has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Dukes next season. The signing of Osimani, who will have two seasons of eligibility remaining, completes DU's three-man 2003-04 recruiting class.
Osimani, who attended the University of Utah for one season before transferring to Miami-Dade, averaged 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 3.5 steals per game last season in earning All-Southern Conference honors for the 18-12 Sharks. He ranked 13th in the NJCAA in steals per game and 22nd nationally in assists per game. An Academic All-Mountain West pick and Dean's List member in his one season at Utah, Osimani was the winner of the Hal Chasey Scholar-Athlete Award at Miami-Dade.
"I felt we needed an old-school point guard," said Nee. "Having played at Utah and Miami-Dade and also as a member of the Uruguayan national team, Martin has the experience and maturity to help our team get better and develop chemistry. I think he'll also help the development of [returning sophomore guard] Bryant McAllister. Martin fits all of our criteria, he is an outstanding student and has a great attitude. I think he's a winner."
Osimani, who played in 28 of 30 games at Utah in 2001-02, chose the Dukes over Texas A&M, UNC-Asheville, Rutgers, South Florida and Nebraska. He made official visits to A&M and Asheville in addition to Duquesne.
The Montevideo, Uruguay native played two years at Champagnat High School in Hialeah, Florida where he was named first team 2A all-state as a senior. He was ranked 93rd on ESPN.com's Top 100 Recruits list (20th among point guards) in 2000-01 after helping Champagnat to a No. 15 USA Today national ranking. A past member of the Uruguay Junior National and U21 National Teams, Osimani plans to play for the National Team this summer.
The addition of Osimani gives the Dukes a total of five scholarship newcomers for the 2003-04 season. Six-nine freshmen Kieron Achara and Sean McKeon, who signed Duquesne last November, are the other members of the '04 recruiting class. They will be joined by transfers Jack Higgins (Cleveland State) and Ryan Tricco (Mesa Community College). Higgins, a 6-5 combo guard who attended Pittsburgh Schenley High School, will be eligible as a sophomore at mid-term, while the 6-4 Tricco, who is the younger brother of DU senior Ryan Tricco, will be eligible as a sophomore this season.
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL 2003-04 SIGNEES
NAME POS HT WT CL HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL (TRANSFER) Kieron Achara* F/C 6-9 230 Fr. Stirling, Scotland/Maine Central Institute Martin Osimani G 6-3 205 Jr. Montevideo, Uraguay/Champagnat Catholic (Fla.) (Miami-Dade CC) Sean McKeon* F 6-9 230 Fr. Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville * - Achara and McKeon committed during the fall early-signing period
ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP NEWCOMERS (both transfers eligible in 2003-04) Jack Higgins G 6-5 180 So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley (Cleveland State) - will be eligible at mid-term Ryan Tricco G 6-4 210 So. Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy College Prep (Mesa CC)
