Most athletes come to Penn just for an education, but Eric Osmundson is determined to make a living playing basketball.
One of four Quakers on the All-Ivy teams last year, Osmundson has been spending the summer showcasing himself to a number of basketball clubs overseas.
As a first-year player, the 6-foot-5 point guard will ink a contract and try to impress from there. He has yet to hire an agent, but has received interest from a number of agents and teams interested in signing him.
"I'll go anywhere. Your first year you have to prove yourself overseas, when you're a rookie, you don't get the big contract," Osmundson said. "I'd like to go into a situation where I will play a lot and be the leader and the primary scorer on the team, have good stats for the first year and from there try to make it to a bigger league.
"I have some contacts in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, so it's going well."
While it is rare to see Quakers athletes taking their game to the next level, it has been a road well-travelled for Penn basketball players. Recent alumni such as Ivy Players of the Year Tim Begley, Ugonna Onyekwe and Michael Jordan have all gone overseas to play professionally.
Onyekwe's frontcourt running mate from 2000 to 2003, Koko Archibong, won a championship with Pau-Orthez in the French League in 2004 and led Bamberg to the German title a year later. Even Penn's recent role players like Jan Fikiel and Conor Tolan have returned to their home countries to play.
Two of last year's assistant coaches, Shawn Trice and Matt Langel, played in various countries overseas. As a former guard, Langel has been able to guide Osmundson through the process.
"I've been in contact with him fairly often, trying to help him as much as I can, just offer some advice and some experience," Langel said. I can "use some of the contacts I've made to help him just to get an opportunity to keep playing."
Working with guards last year, the current Temple assistant is still close with his former players.
"I keep in contact with him every week," Osmundson said. "He's one of the closest guys I talked to during the season, and I trust his judgment."
Osmundson recently played at a camp in Richmond to increase his exposure. Many of the players came from Atlantic 10 and Big East schools, conferences that regularly produce top-10 teams.
The Penn grad had the opportunity to show he belonged with the crowd, getting to guard quality point guards like West Virginia's J.D. Collins and Boston College's Louis Hinnant.
"I played very well and was able to showcase [some] of my abilities that I couldn't at Penn," Osmundson said. "When I was recruited out of high school I was more of a scoring, slashing, able-to-drive type of player, and I was able to do that" in Richmond.
Osmundson's stats at Penn were solid but not staggering -- 33 minutes and 10 points per game and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.33. But he might bring more to the table for a professional team.
"He's got an advantage as a big guard, I think he's got good size to him," Langel said. "And he's got a great deal of athleticism -- he can play tough defense, he can shoot the ball, and he can get his own shot off."
Osmundson is working on many of the little things in his game he didn't have the chance to perfect while he was a Quaker.
"I think I could improve on my off-the-dribble play a little more, finishing around the basket, Steve Nash-type layups, that type of stuff," Osmundson said. "I can get to the rim, it's just a matter of concentrating and really focusing. At Penn we really didn't have opportunities to drive as much."
Once Osmundson signs with a team, he will help keep up the tradition of Penn basketball going across the Atlantic to play professionally. And with three All-Ivy players returning next year, that line could certainly continue.
"The Penn name means something with the success our guys have had over there," Langel said. Teams "know they're going to get a solid kid who is going to work hard and do whatever is asked of him to help the team."
