RIO GRANDE VALLEY – When former men's basketball player Everett Osborne graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in 2016, he had no idea how different his life would be seven years down the road. 
 
Osborne wanted to play professional basketball. That was a goal of his from a young age. But when his path turned in a different direction, he accepted and embraced it and made the most of the opportunities in front of him, as he always has. 
 
"You never know what your life journey has in store for you," Osborne said. "My most pivotal moment was graduating and not knowing what I was going to do. We all talk about going to your next job or 'I'm going to go play professional.' But what happens when you graduate and you don't have an opportunity to play professionally? What do you do? What happens when now you have to come home and figure it out? That was the pivotal point for me." 
 
Osborne found his own way to a pro career. He joined Athletes in Action, a sports ministry organization, and played professionally in Australia for three seasons. What was supposed to be a quick trip to the states for his visa in 2019 unexpectedly turned into the end of his pro career as brush fires in Australia then the COVID-19 pandemic hampered his return overseas.
 
Back in Los Angeles, Osborne decided to shift his focus to acting full-time. The former guard had been involved in the craft to some variety most of his life. He did commercials, voiceovers and photoshoots while at UTRGV, and he used those clips to self-submit for auditions. 
 
In 2017, Osborne landed the starring role of Dante Grand in Nike's "Want It All" advertisement which featured LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Since then, he has made appearances on NBC's Chicago Fire and BET's Sistas. 
 
On April 14, 2023, Osborne made his major film debut as the sports biopic Sweetwater was released in theaters. Osborne portrayed Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African American to sign an NBA contract, perfectly combining his love of acting and basketball in his first feature role. He performed all the basketball skills in the movie.
 
"It was like watching a dream come true that you never would have dreamed of," Osborne said. "People have goals and dreams, and they'll say, 'That was a dream come true.' But I never dreamed of this. I didn't plan on being an actor. But I genuinely love it. I'm called to it. 
 
"We told a true story. A real human being's story that finally got to get told," he continued. "Sweetwater is one of the greatest trailblazers that we haven't heard about. And he didn't just change the game for Black players. His style of play changed the way basketball's played. He opened the door for all players with that creativity, that innovation. The fact that I had the responsibility to tell his story, it was mind-blowing and I'm very grateful for it." 
 
The art of acting is stepping into a world that isn't yours and absorbing it fully, Osborne said. He had to put his love of basketball to the side to embrace the role of Sweetwater.  
 
But Osborne, who studied psychology, did find some similarities in the emotions basketball left behind for him and Sweetwater. 
 
"As I was doing research for the film, I heard Sweetwater Clifton say in a video as an older man that he wished the NBA was able to see what he really could have done. I related to that," Osborne said. "In my first game at UTPA, I had 20 points. Then after that I played a little bit, now I'm benched, now I'm playing three, five minutes a game, not really feeling like I have the opportunity to fully express my greatest potential. Sweetwater went through that journey. I was able to relate to that vulnerability, that yearn of wanting to express a higher purpose that we all feel sometimes." 
 
Osborne transferred to then-legacy institution UTPA in 2014 after stints at Saddleback Community College and Los Angeles Trade Tech (LATTC). After his redshirt sophomore season at LATTC, Osborne attended a prospect camp in Texas where several mid-major and high-level Division I schools were recruiting. UTPA expressed interest during the season, then reconnected at the camp. 
 
"It was the first school that really offered me, really believed, so that's how I ended up down there," Osborne said. "I'm big on commitment and being loyal. I don't care where it's at. I don't care if people haven't heard of it before. I was like, you know what, this is my opportunity. It just felt right. Lo and behold, it became more than just basketball."  


 
Osborne played in 40 games and made 13 starts, representing the university from 2014-16. He averaged 16.2 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. 
 
His impact was felt far beyond the court. Osborne was selected to serve as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president. He made the athletic director's honor roll and was awarded the Sam Williams Endowed Scholarship, recognizing a men's basketball player with outstanding academic, athletic and civic merit. 
 
From the moment he stepped on campus, Osborne bought in to the culture and responsibility of being a student-athlete. He was named "Mr. Bronc" for his unwavering commitment to representing the university. 
 
"I'll never forget, I called my mom the day I went and picked up my books and I didn't have to pay a dime," Osborne reflected. "I realized there's so much responsibility with having the opportunity to go to school, have your education paid for, your family not worrying about finances. I don't believe that's just free money floating around. It's a partnership." 
 
As SAAC president, he hosted meetings, helped with leadership conferences, volunteered in the community. He took on a spokesperson role for the athletic department and school, helping with the transition from UTPA to UTRGV. Even after he graduated, he continued to make an impact in the RGV, including with a visit to the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen in 2017 to give an inspirational message about evolving. 
 
Life has changed significantly for Osborne since he graduated, particularly in the last year. The trailer for Sweetwater dropped the same weekend he played in the 2023 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game – a weekend when everything took off. He returned to Utah's Huntsman Center, where he played his first out-of-state game with the UTPA Broncs in 2014, and broke the all-star game scoring record, dropping 23 points on Michael Jordan's birthday and snagging 12 rebounds in front of a star-studded crowd. 
 
The first time Osborne played at the Huntsman Center, he scored three points in a losing effort against the Utes and future NBA players Delon Wright and Kyle Kuzma. 
 
His return, this time as the lead in a major film, showcasing his basketball potential and being the last person in the arena signing autographs for every fan, was a full circle moment that epitomized the new direction of his life. 
 
The lessons Osborne learned being a leader at UTRGV, being a kid far from home for the first time, being a student-athlete on a team which only won 18 games during his career, all helped get him where he is today. And the message he has for student-athletes about evolving is resounding. 

"I believe growth stems from resistance. You ever experience growing pains? I look at it like that," Osborne said. "I had a dream of playing basketball, winning conference championships, averaging 20 points a game. But the truth is, the basketball side of my journey was a very up and down battle. I had to do leadership conferences about victory when I'm on the bench and we're losing. How are you talking about victory but you're looking like a loser? 
 
"Those experiences where most people would turn the other way and say, 'I'm not meant to do this. I don't like this experience,' I always ran to it," he continued. "I always found that there was growth and opportunity in that discomfort, and I was very militant about just snuffing it out. All student-athletes, and students, and people, we're all performing in some degree. We do have that anxiety about wanting to do better. Understanding how to manage that, understanding who Everett Osborne was outside of performance, that really helped me grow." 


 
Osborne has received messages from people who were touched by the story he told in Sweetwater, and Clifton's family has thanked him for his performance. He has graced magazine covers, done press tours and movie premieres, been featured in an NCAA commercial, and continued to impact kids with his story.  
 
Through all the milestone moments he has worked for and enjoyed in the last seven years, he remembers and appreciates how UTRGV impacted his journey. The path to victory does come with trials and testing moments, Osborne says, but those moments can't stop your destiny if you keep an open mind. That mentality has helped him evolve, and his story can inspire others to have the same buy-in and openness as they write their own story. 
 
"My dad told me, 'Love what loves you,'" he said. "UTRGV showed me a lot of love. This school invested in me, this community invested in me, so I invested back. I took on everything with joy and love and I just fully embraced the place. I always refer back to UTRGV because that was the first introduction of, wow, basketball is genuinely a platform. It opened my eyes and showed me you can have one dream and you never know what it can turn into." 

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