Sept. 17, 2012

Junior center Omar Oraby has transferred to USC from Rice, it was announced today (Sept. 17) by men's basketball head coach Kevin O'Neill.

"We are excited that Omar Oraby has joined the team and think he will fit in quickly," said O'Neill. "His size and ability to score inside and block shots will make an immediate impact. He is a great student with a 3.7 GPA in Civil Engineering at Rice. He has a very bright future."

Oraby is a 7-2, 270-pound center from Cairo, Egypt who played at Rice the last two seasons. He will apply for a hardship waiver to be eligible this season and begin classes at USC today.

As a sophomore Oraby played in 34 games (four starts) for the Owls and averaged 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game, while setting the school record for blocks in a season with 54. He also made 62.9 percent of his field goal attempts (78-for-124) to lead all Rice players. He also made 71.2 percent of his free throw attempts (47-for-66). Oraby posted three double-doubles during the year, going for 11 points and 12 rebounds at Houston Baptist, 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. Marshall and 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Houston. He scored in double figures eight times with a career-high 17 points vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore on Nov. 20, 2011.

Oraby has extensive international experience as a member of Egypt's Junior National team and was one of the leading rebounders and shot blockers at FIBA's 2009 U19 World Championships played in New Zealand. He had double-doubles in Egypt's final two games, including a 24-point, 11-rebound effort against Kazakhstan.