Prized big man transfer commits to Alabama
Alabama’s men’s basketball program has worked the portal exceptionally well this spring, landing commitments from a trio of transfers over the past few weeks. The Crimson Tide continued their momentum in the portal on Sunday.
Moments ago, Nate Oats and Company received a commitment from Rutgers big man transfer Clifford Omoruyi. Omoruyi, who has been in the portal since March 20, committed to Bama after visiting the program last week.
He picked the Tide following visits to Georgetown, Kansas State, and North Carolina that took place over the past couple of weeks.
Omoruyi brings a much-needed presence as a rim protector to Alabama’s front court. Omoruyi has averaged 1.8 blocks per game in his four-year career, reaching a career-high 2.9 blocks per game last season. In comparison, Bama averaged 4.3 blocks per game as a team last season, with their top rim protector being Grant Nelson (1.7 blocks per game).
A solid defender at the rim, Omoruyi is also fairly productive on the offensive end of the court. He averaged 10.4 points per game on 51.2 percent shooting this past season. He also averaged 8.3 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game as a senior.
Omoruyi will have one year of eligibility remaining because of his COVID year.
According to the 2024 College Basketball Transfer Portal Top Players rankings, Omoruyi is listed as the No. 12 overall player in the portal. He was the No. 3 center available, behind Indiana commit Oumar Ballo and Arkansas pledge Jonas Aidoo.
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Omoruyi becomes the fourth player from the portal to team up with Alabama over the past few weeks. Auburn transfer Aden Holloway (April 20), Pepperdine transfer Houston Mallette (March 19), and USF transfer Chris Youngblood (April 13) have all teamed up with the Tide this spring.
Omoruyi, who moved to New Jersey from Nigeria at the age of 14, is a key addition for Alabama, especially with the departure of Nick Pringle to the transfer portal. The Crimson Tide are also adding borderline five-star big man Aiden Sherrell to the roster here in the coming weeks.
Coming off a Final Four appearance, Alabama is assembling one of the top rosters in all of college basketball. They’ll add four coveted transfers to the fold, while also bringing in the No. 3 class in the country. Following On3’s rankings updates on Monday, Bama is adding four top-55 players to the roster: Derrion Reid (No. 18), Sherrell (No. 19), Labaron Philon (No. 36), and Naas Cunningham (No. 51).
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