Siena Senior O.D. Anosike Invited To Premier Basketball Showcase

Siena senior forward O.D. Anosike has accepted an invitation to attend the Portsmouth Invitational Torunament (P.I.T.) April 10-13 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The P.I.T. is a premier showcase for college seniors pursuing basketball careers.

Anosike is the ninth Siena student athlete to play in Portsmouth since 2000. Ryan Rossiter ’11 was the last Saint to attend two years ago. Alex Franklin ‘10 and Edwin Ubiles each attended the event in 2010, and Kenny Hasbrouck '09 Antoine Jordan '06, Prosper Karangwa ’03, Dwayne Archbold ’02 and Marcus Faison ’00 also participated following their senior years. All eight went on to play professional basketball overseas, with Ubiles and Hasbrouck advancing all the way to NBA rosters.

Anosike enters the MAAC Championships second all-time in program history with 1,054 career rebounds and 26th in scoring with 1,222 points. His rebounding total is fifth best in league history and he is one of just nine MAAC players to reach both benchmarks.

Anosike’s achieved national acclaim for his success on and off the court at Siena. As a junior he became the first MAAC player to lead the nation in rebounding. For his efforts he was named First Team All-MAAC, First Team NABC All-District, a Lou Henson All-American, a NABC honors court selection, and was one of just four student athletes featured in the NCAA final four program.

Anosike was named Second Team All-MAAC Monday after averaging 12.9 points and ranking second nationally with 11.4 rebounds per game during the regular-season. He shot 50% from the field and averaged 37.1 minutes per game.

Each year for 60 years the P.I.T has invited 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team. The tournament drew the attention of NBA Scouts and General Managers in the mid-70’s when players like Dave Cowens, John Lucas, Walt Szczerbiak and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. Soon the word spread and approximately 200 Scouts, General Managers and Representatives of all 30 NBA teams began to come to see players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and others. Today scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl ‘The Pearl” Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom.

The preceding information was provided by Jason Rich, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Siena College.