The former Rutgers and Alabama center is an interesting test case, an old-school rim protector in a positionless game.
Rutgers’ basketball star Dylan Harper throws out Sunday’s first pitch at Yankee Stadium
Rutgers’ basketball star Dylan Harper throws out ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium on June 22, 2025, prior to the Orioles-Yankees game.
Cliff Omoruyi left home in Nigeria as a 14-year-old in 2016, hoping to find his way to the NBA.
Now, after stops at Roselle Catholic High School, Rutgers University and the University of Alabama, he’ll get his chance.
The 23-year-old center agreed to sign a free-agent deal with the Toronto Raptors shortly after the NBA Draft concluded June 26, The Athletic reported.
He’s an interesting case. In the NBA of 15 years ago, when rim-protecting Rutgers center Hamady N’Diaye was a second-round draft pick and played 33 games in the league, Omoruyi’s skills would be much more coveted than they are in today’s pro game, in which just about everyone is expected to have shooting range and ball-handling skills.
At 6-foot-11, an elite athlete and tenacious defender, Omoruyi helped Rutgers reach two NCAA Tournaments. He peaked as a junior in 2022-23, averaging 13.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. As a senior in 2023-24 he blocked 93 shots (2.9 per game), the most by any Big Ten player since 2018.
After graduating with a degree in information technology with a 3.7 grade-point average, Omoruyi played his postgrad season at Alabama. Unlike at Rutgers, where the coaches gave him some latitude to test his range in games, the Crimson Tide employed him exclusively in the paint. He averaged 7.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks and shot an eye-popping 73 percent from the field as Alabama advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
“You know what you’re getting, the things he does well – he protects the rim, he can finish within three feet of the goal, he’s a good screener,” said Daniel Marks, formerly the Milwaukee Bucks’ manager of prospect information, currently the chief program strategist for Howard University men’s basketball. “It’s just that his feel for the game, his offensive limitations, are going to be what they are.”
Marks spent nine years with the Bucks as they built an NBA championship roster; he was a strong influence behind them drafting former Seton Hall standout Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is now holding his own with the San Antonio Spurs. But “Mamu” is what the NBA wants now – a 6-foot-9 guy who can shoot, pass and handle like a guard. Omoruyi is an old-school blunt force instrument inside.
“He’s going to have to be absolutely elite defensively to have a chance of sticking,” Marks said. “Offensively, he’s a great lob threat and can finish around the rim, but he clogs up your spacing. He’s going to have to be a defensive specialist.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.