Aug. 7, 2009

Bambale Osby, who played at Maryland for two seasons, has signed to play in Germany with Phoenix Hagen. This will be Hagen's first season in Germany's top league, the Bundesliga, having been recently promoted after finishing second last season in the lower Pro-A league.

Osby is a 6-foot-8 power forward who is 23 years old. He played last year at Mobitelco Cluj in Romania. There, he reached an average of 10.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.

"Boom", as he is nicknamed, previously played in college at the University of Maryland. In his senior season, he averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots.

"Bambale Osby is exactly the player we wanted. He gives us what we need under the basket. He is strong on defense and rebounding, and he brings the necessary mass to (defend inside)," said new Phoenix coach Ingo Freyer.

Freyer was particularly impressed by Osby's appearance in a European Cup game against German champion Oldenburg, where he scored 18 points and 6 rebounds.