born in woodbury, new jersey, o'shea earned all-america accolades while playing at wayland high school in wayland, massachusetts. he played college basketball at boston college from 1980-84 under gary williams. during his time at bc, o'shea and the eagles won two big east regular-season titles. o'shea also earned four postseason tournament berths during his career, with bc advancing twice to the ncaa tournament sweet sixteen and once to the elite eight.