For Osby, beauty in eye of free-throw holder

College Park (Map, News) - It’s not pretty. But it’s getting better. No, not Bambale Osby’s afro — his free-throw shooting. With the ball resting in his finger tips, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound University of Maryland senior looks like he’s holding an egg.

It's an awkward sight, but after going 7-of-8 in an 85-75 win over Virginia, Osby is shooting 65.8 percent from the free throw line.

“The biggest deal is to shoot the same shot every time,” Osby said. “I’m just working on it every day as much as I can. That’s the biggest key.”

But against the Cavaliers, though, Osby had a little extra motivation when he toed the foul line.

Osby, a native of Richmond, Va., conversed with Virginia sophomore Calvin Baker, a native of Newport News, Va., before Osby shot.

“Baker was talking saying, ‘You’re not going to make it.’ And I said, ‘I bet you I do.’ We were just going back and forth,” Osby said. “He’s a good buddy of mine and he was talking some crap like, ‘there’s going to be some clutch free throws coming up.’ I said, ‘They ain’t going to be nothing, I’m going to knock ‘em down.’”

And Osby did — hitting all but one of his free throws during an 11-point performance to lead the Terrapins (13-8 overall, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a much-needed victory. But what happened on Wednesday night at Comcast Center is nothing new to Osby, who often draws attention from opponents for his meticulous form at the free throw line.

“That usually happens almost every game,” sophomore forward Landon Milbourne said. “Players get upset because [Osby] takes about 10 seconds to shoot every free throw. They feel the need to say something and he always talks back. I guess it keeps him in the game, so it helps out.”

Osby shot just 44.7 percent from the free throw line at New Mexico as a freshman before transferring to Maryland a year later, shoot 58.7 percent last season. Aside from a 2-for-8 performance against Hampton in the Terrapins’ second game of the year, Osby is pretty dependable at the free throw line.

“He works hard in practice on his free throws,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “It’s nice to see him want to go to the free throw line. I’m not sure that was true earlier. That’s a big change for him.”

Osby’s improvement doesn’t stop at the line, either. He’s seen his role in the offense improve, as Maryland has emphasized its low post game to jump-start the offense.

“Coach Williams wrote that on the board before the game: Inside-out offense,” sophomore guard Eric Hayes said. “We got the ball inside, and the big guys were kicking it out to us. We were able to hit some shots.”

Maryland’s starters scored 81 of the team’s 85 points Wednesday, thanks to improvement from some of the team’s secondary offensive options, including Osby.

After averaging 5.8 points as a junior, Osby averaged 10.4 points in his first 15 games as a senior. But in the past five games, he’s improved to 14.6 points per game.

“He’s gaining confidence in his offense,” Williams said. “When you’re not making free throws, a lot of times you’re afraid to make a move to the basket. I think now Boom believes he’s going to go to the line and be a good free throw shooter. When he gets a chance, he’s going to make a move to the basket. With his strength, that’s a big part of our offense.”

swelsh@baltimoreexaminer.com

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