Through the adversity, Mississauga’s Osman “Ozzy” Omar shines bright for Canadian basketball
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — From a top-rated California prep school to a small Atlantic-Canada program, discover how 26-year-old, Osman “Ozzy” Omar became one of the best players in Canadian university basketball.
There’s no question that Omar’s life has been met with a tremendous amount of adversity, and hardship. From losing his father at the age of 16 in a devastating shooting, to seeing all of his NCAA scholarships disappear seemingly overnight.
Despite this, Mississauga-native; Osman “Ozzy” Omar seems destined for greatness.
Osman Omar grew up in a tight-knit household in Mississauga, Ontario with his four older siblings, and two Somalian parents who had moved to Canada looking for a better life. From an early age, sports had been instilled into Omar, with both his father (who represented Somalia’s national soccer team), and his aunt (who represented Somalia’s basketball team) competing in sports at a high level for years before moving to Canada.
Having such strong figures in Ozzy’s life undoubtedly helped motivate him to pursue basketball, and eventually compete with some of the best players in the GTA at the time, not the least of which included professional hoopers Andrew Wiggins, Dillon Brooks, and Tyler Ennis.
His early success even earned him a spot at one of the top prep schools in California, where he further enhanced his diverse skill set, and began preparing for collegiate action. But with the 2015 season on the horizon, countless Division I NCAA scholarship offers on his plate and just a couple months before officially graduating from high school. Ozzy’s prep school lost its NCAA accreditation, effectively destroying his chances of playing DI basketball.
Omar’s deals subsequently fell through, and by 2017, he was back in his Mississauga home, completely removed from the game.
Luckily, Ozzy’s previous life challenges, and dedication to his Islamic faith, prepared him for the tough road ahead. Reminded by the courageous spirit, and inspiration of his father, and guided by friends and family around him, Osman pushed himself to overcome the doubt and get back in the game.
Omar emailed every university basketball program in the country and sent out tapes of him playing in top-level men’s leagues in Mississauga, with the hope that somebody, somewhere would take notice. However, ‘Ozzy’ had only received responses from three schools in Canada when the unexpected sports program from Nova Scotia suddenly entered the conversation.
With the goal of making a historic return, Osman Omar officially committed to Cape Breton University in 2017.
CBU’s head coach, Matt Skinn, had this to say on recruiting Omar: “He jumped off the screen… I knew he was something special,”
Skinn also added how he remembers marveling at his student-athletes athleticism, and “ability to push the ball up the floor.”
In Omar’s first year with the Capers, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 17 games played, but the team still struggled to achieve any sort of success. Though, by just his second season, he was dominant, averaging 21.9 points (3rd in country), 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game on 49% from the field, 37% from deep, and 84% from the line. He helped turn around a program that had won a combined two games from 2016-2018, into a Top-4 team in the Atlantic Conference.
Following the successful year, Coach Skinn spoke on what sticks out most with the Canadian’s development;
“The first thing is his attitude. He is a great person, a true student-athlete, and he has completely bought into the new system and to helping his teammates succeed… The second thing is his work ethic. He is constantly in the gym, working on his game, and trying to become the best player he can be. Those things coming from a player in his second year of eligibility will set him up for the possibility of success, which he has had so far this season.”
He proceeded to follow this up with a remarkable junior campaign in which he mimicked these averages and led the Atlantic University Sports in scoring yet again. His performance in 2019-20 also made him an AUS all-star for the first time in his career.
Now entering his 4th and final year with CBU, Osman has his sights set on something much greater–leading the Capers to an Atlantic championship for the first time since 2013. It’s one of the few things that Ozzy has left to check off his resume, and something that seems more than within reach for the 2021-22 season.
With all that he’s been through, and all that he has left to accomplish, there’s no reason why fans shouldn’t expect to see the Mississauga-native take his game to the next level soon.
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