June 10, 2009

BOSTON - After asking for his release and the opportunity to explore other options following the conclusion of the 2008-09 season, America East Rookie of the Year and rising sophomore Jake O'Brien has decided to remain with the Boston University men's basketball team, first-year head coach Patrick Chambers announced Wednesday. The BC High graduate was considering both Xavier and St. Joseph's.

"Our players and coaching staff are excited about Jake's return," said Chambers. "We look forward to working with him and preparing for what we hope will be a successful season."

The 6-foot-8 forward from Weymouth, Mass., set the record for minutes played by a BU freshman with 1,043 while finishing third on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (4.6 rpg). He hit 61 3-pointers during the season, tying for ninth all-time in the program's record book and led the team in scoring four separate times, including a 25-point performance at UMBC.

"Seeing all the schools out there the past few weeks was a good learning experience for me because it taught me to just go with my gut feeling, and I realized that BU is the right spot for me," O'Brien said. "I certainly want to continue my career here, and I'm really excited to get back to work with all the guys. I'm looking forward to building a relationship with the new coaching staff and trying to go and have a great season."

The Terriers will bring back an experienced team this upcoming year, featuring a total of nine seniors and first-team all-America East honorees Corey Lowe and John Holland.

The program's career-record holder for made 3-pointers with 238 and a rising senior, Lowe is currently 10th all-time in scoring at BU with 1,334 points and only needs 193 more to crack the top five.

A rising junior, Holland last season scored 543 points, ninth-most ever by a Terrier, while leading the team in rebounding at 5.5 rpg. He now only needs 115 total to become the 28th student-athlete in program history to score 1,000 points.

Also returning will be 2007 AE Rookie of the Year Tyler Morris along with Carlos Strong, who will both look to end their collegiate careers on a high note after suffering season-ending injuries before the start of the conference slate this past year. Scott Brittain, who has a career 8.2 ppg scoring average, will be a senior as well and only needs six rebounds to reach 500 for his career.

BU finished the 2008-09 season with a 17-13 record and placed third in the league standings. The team has already announced that it will be participating in the 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which will be held Nov. 19-22 in San Juan.