Todd O'Brien (born March 3, 1989) is an American-born, naturalized Armenian professional basketball player who last played for

Alexandria Sporting Club Alexandria Sporting Club, also commonly known as Sporting Alexandria and Sporting between the locals, is an Egyptian sports club based in Alexandria, Egypt. Founded in 1890, the club is one of the oldest clubs in Egypt and Africa. The club was tak ...

of the Egyptian National League. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Bucknell and Saint Joseph's before playing professionally in Latvia, France, Japan, Poland, Qatar, Lebanon, Armenia, Egypt and Israel.

High school

O'Brien attended

Garden Spot High School Garden Spot High School is located in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1954, this is the only senior high school in the Eastern Lancaster County School District. It is attached to Garden Spot Middle School, ...

New Holland, Pennsylvania New Holland (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Seischwamm'') is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,762, up from 5,378 in the 2010 census. History New Holland was settled in 1728 by brothers John Michae ...

(2003–2007). A 4-year starter, he finished his high school basketball career with over 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, and 250 blocked shots. As a senior, he averaged over 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game for the Spartans. As a 3-star recruit O’Brien was ranked as the No. 12 Pennsylvania prospect of 2007 by PA Prep report. O’Brien was selected First Team Lancaster-Lebanon (L-L) Section Two his sophomore, junior and senior years and First Team All-L-L League as a senior. He was named a Top 20 All Star at Eastern Invitational Camp before his senior season, and also was selected to play in the Philadelphia-Washington D.C. All-Star Game and the Jameer Nelson All-Star Classic. O'Brien was the first basketball player in Garden Spot's history to earn an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

basketball scholarship, accepting a full scholarship from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

College career

As a freshman at Bucknell, O’Brien was named to the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

All-Rookie team, finishing third in the league in blocks. At the end of the season, O'Brien transferred to

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. After redshirting the 2008–2009 season, O'Brien started at center for the Hawks and was the team's leading rebounder in the 2010–2011 season. He earned the

George Senesky George Lawrence Senesky (April 4, 1922 – June 25, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'2" Guard (basketball), guard from Saint Joseph's University, he was the 1942–43 College Basketball Season's Consensus Playe ...

Award for academic excellence in his 2009–2010 season. After playing a decreased role for the Hawks in the 2010–2011 season, O'Brien opted to become a Graduate Transfer and play his final eligible season of college basketball at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Complications getting his transfer waiver approved ultimately left O'Brien as a member of the Blazers basketball team but unable to compete in NCAA games for the 2011–2012 season. The waiver dispute earned O’Brien public support from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and the New York Times.

Professional career

In June 2012, O'Brien signed his first professional contract with BK Jekabpils of the

Latvian Basketball League Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

. In their inaugural season, O'Brien helped lead the team to a No. 5 finish and secure a spot in the playoffs. O’Brien finished top five in the league in points (15.6), rebounds (9.4), and player efficiency per game. He was named Latvian League Center of the Year, First Team All Latvia and to the Latvian League All Imports Team by

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

For his second season, O'Brien signed with Hermine Nantes in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Playing in the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

division, O'Brien was sidelined from October to December with a foot injury. He was able to return and finish the rest of the season, averaging 10.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. In July 2014, O'Brien signed with the Oita Heat Devils of the Japanese BJ League. Playing in 50 games that season, O’Brien finished as the team leader in points (13.0), rebounds (9.4), field goal percentage (50%), blocks (1.2), and player efficiency (14.7). He helped guide the Heat Devils to a playoff appearance as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. In July 2015, O'Brien signed with Polish club MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza. O'Brien left the club in October and moved to Al Arabi of the

Qatar Basketball League The Qatari Basketball League () is the top-tier men's basketball league operating in Qatar. The winning team obtains the participation right to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. The first official season took place in 1981/82. There is a second divis ...

. While playing for Al Arabi, O'Brien led the team in points (22.3), rebounds (17.9), field goal percentage (47.8), free throw percentage (78.4), blocks (1.4), and player efficiency (31.4). He ranked first in the league in rebounds and player efficiency, third in blocked shots and ninth in scoring. O’Brien was named Qatar Center of the Year, First Team All-Qatar and to the Qatar All-Imports team. Upon the conclusion of the Qatar Basketball league regular season, O'Brien signed with Lebanese club CS Sagesse Beirut of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

in March 2016. In 13 games, O'Brien emerged as the league's leading rebounder at 13.2 per game and finished in the top five in player efficiency. Entering playoffs as a No. 7 seed, O'Brien hit the game-winning shot at the end of regulation to complete the series upset over No. 2 seed

Tadamon Zouk Tadamon Zouk ( ar, التضامن الزوق) is a Lebanese sports club most known for its basketball program. It is located in Zouk Mikael, Kesrouan, Lebanon. Tadamon Zouk basketball team is part of the Lebanese Basketball League. It was part ...

to send Sagesse into the league's final four round. O'Brien joined

Al Hala Halat Bu Maher ( ar, حالة بو ماهر), sometimes abbreviated to simply "Al Hala" ( ar, الحالة), is a neighbourhood of Muharraq, Bahrain. It used to be a separate island, but after coastal expansion and dredging, the island has merged ...

of the Bahrain Premier League for the preseason Bahrain Supercup. Upon completion in mid-September, O'Brien signed with

Urartu BC Urartu Basketball Club ( hy, Ուրարտու բասկետբոլային ակումբ), also currently known as Urartu Vivaro for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team in Armenia, currently based in Yerevan. Founded in 2016 in Yer ...

of Armenia in their inaugural season. O'Brien was given an Armenian passport for contributions to the country's national athletics, making him eligible to play for the National Team in future competitions. He participated in the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...

, where he led the league in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and ranked No. 4 in player efficiency (18.8). Due to sponsorship issues, the club ceased operations in early December. In December 2016, O'Brien returned to CS Sagesse Beirut on a short-term contract, playing in six Lebanese league games and participating in the Dubai International Tournament in February 2017. In March 2017, O'Brien signed a deal returning to

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

with league power BK Ventspils. On November 21, 2018, O'Brien signed with

Al Ahly AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

of the

Egyptian Basketball Super League The Egyptian Basketball Super League, also known as the Egyptian Basketball Premier League A, is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is ...

. He also participated in the

Africa Basketball League The FIBA Africa Basketball League (formerly named the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup) was the highest caliber men's professional basketball competition for clubs until 2020, organized by the FIBA Africa and played by the champions of the league ...

, where he led the tournament in rebounds with 12 per game, to go with 13.8 points, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 block shots per game. On September 16, 2019, O'Brien signed a one-year deal with Alexandria Sporting Club of Egypt of the Egyptian National League.

Overseas Elite

O'Brien plays as a member of the

Overseas Elite Overseas Elite was an American basketball team that participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team won the tournament four consecutive times: 2015 (prize money $1 million), 2016 ...

basketball team that competes in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 201 ...

(TBT), a summer tournament broadcast on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. In 2015, O'Brien was a member of the inaugural Overseas Elite basketball team that competed in TBT 2015. The team, composed of other overseas professionals, went on to defeat

Team 23 Team 23 is an American basketball team that competes in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all competition. The team has competed in each tournament since 2015, except for 2020. , the team's general manager (sports), general man ...

in the championship game, taking home a $1 million prize. In summer 2016, O'Brien and Overseas Elite repeated as champions, defeating Team Colorado in the TBT 2016 finals, winning an increased $2 million prize. O'Brien and Overseas Elite won their third championship at TBT 2017, defeating Team Challenge ALS in the finals, for another $2 million prize. At TBT 2018, O'Brien and Overseas Elite won their fourth championship, defeating

Eberlein Drive Eberlein Drive is an American basketball team that participates in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team has participated in the tournament since its 2014 inaugural playing. The roster ...

in the finals, to secure another $2 million prize.

Personal life

O'Brien was born March 3, 1989 in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

. His family moved to

Lancaster, PA Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

when he was young. His father, Roy, played football at the University of Penn and was an assistant football coach at

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

. His mother, Pam, played both lacrosse and basketball at

Hood College , motto_lang = la , mottoeng = With Heart and Mind and Hand , established = , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = United Church of Christ , endowment = $104.5 million (2020) , president = Andrea E. Chapd ...

. His older sister, Kim, was a triple jumper at

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthera ...

. His younger sister, Julia, plays professional volleyball. She was a two-time All-PSAC First Team selection at

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

and the 2014 PSAC Player of the Year. His uncle, Bruce Frank, played basketball at the University of Penn and went on to play professionally in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His cousin, Matt Frank, was the starting

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...

and team captain of

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

's 2016 National Championship football team.

References

External links