Donald “Ozzie” Osbourne knows full well the significance of following in the legendary footsteps – and vocal cords – of his former coach, Jay Mahoney.
Osbourne has been hired as Bogota’s boys basketball coach, succeeding a father figure who led the program for 43 seasons and to more than 700 wins , two Bergen County Jamboree titles and a state crown.
“Going to coach where I played, and going to coach where he coached, it’s an honor,” Osbourne said Wednesday.
Osbourne, 50, is a veteran educator and coach in Bergen County. He is dean of students at Hackensack. For a decade, he coached girls and boys basketball at Dwight Morrow. He spent the past four seasons as men’s basketball coach at Bergen Community College.
“He’s going to care about the kids in school, he’s going to care about their grades, he’s going to care about how they act outside of school,” Mahoney said. “He’s going to do a terrific job with basketball, there’s no doubt about it.”
Osbourne, who recently moved back to Bogota, credits Mahoney for helping him grow from a troubled teen into a mature adult
“He was the one who put me under his wing and was like another dad to me,” Osbourne said. “He kept me in line, taught me right from wrong, taught me to stop being a silly kid, a kid who wanted to fight all the time, and how to be a student-athlete. And he really changed my life.”
Osbourne is a 1990 Bogota graduate who was a starter on the 1989-90 team that won Bergen Jamboree and NJSIAA Group 1 championships. Osbourne is among multiple players from that roster to become coaches.
The Bucs’ most notable player from that 1989-90 team is Pat Sullivan, who went on to win a national college championship with North Carolina in 1993. Sullivan is the Tar Heels’ director of recruiting, after 18 seasons working on NBA coaching staffs.
“If it wasn’t for coach Mahoney, I don’t know where I would have been,” said Osbourne, who played collegiately at County College of Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson. “I certainly wouldn’t have been a college athlete. I certainly wouldn’t be working in schools and coaching.
“I think he was the one who started me off, indirectly, teaching me how to be a young man and doing the right thing. He was an inspiration that made me want to be a coach.”
Mahoney and Osbourne have similar sideline coaching styles. They stand most of the game and constantly yell instructions to their players, their voices sometimes becoming hoarse.
They differ somewhat on game philosophy. While Mahoney’s teams were known for 3-pointers and junk defenses, Osbourne’s teams play pressure defense, attack the basket, and shoot 3-pointers as a second option.
“My philosophy has never changed over the years,” said Osbourne, who takes over a team that last season went 9-12. “I only ask for three things from players: Play hard, play tough, and play defense. And if you know Bogota, we’re good for that.”
“He has the ability to relate to the kids,” said Mahoney, who retired as hoops coach but will remain as a cross-country assistant. “He can be stern with them, yet he can also joke with them. He knows how to do both. He knows how to reach the kids.”
New Jersey’s hoops season opens in mid-December and Osbourne will be honoring Mahoney during the first home game with what he calls “Jay Mahoney Day.”
“I’m going to dedicate that day to him,” Osbourne said. “I’m going to have a special chair just for him, where nobody else sits in that chair. We’re going to have that day especially for him.”
And Osbourne will be sitting in a chair on Bogota’s sideline, where he hasn’t sat since 1990 and where Mahoney coached since 1979.
Greg Mattura is a sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your phone, sign up for our newsletter and download our app . Email: mattura@northjersey.com. Twitter: @gregmattura
