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Alabama assistant Preston Murphy posts cryptic message amid Clifford Omoruyi pursuit

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/30/24•

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Clifford Omoruyi
Clifford Omoruyi (Vincent Carchietta / USA TODAY Sports)

As Alabama’s pursuit of Rutgers transfer center Clifford Omoruyi continues, a Crimson Tide assistant coach shared an interesting post on social media. Preston Murphy posted a college basketball recruiting rankings list with a cryptic message inside.

Murphy told fans to start by zooming in on the bottom right corner, and if they follow the rest of the directions, it will lead them to the Alabama logo. Inside the logo sits Clifford the Big Red Dog – which is even more interesting considering Omoruyi visited Tuscaloosa on Sunday.

It’s another chapter in Alabama’s pursuit of one of the top players in the transfer portal.

Omoruyi also scheduled a visit to North Carolina this week, On3’s Joe Tipton reported, as he continues to go through the transfer process. He is currently the No. 12 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings and the fourth-best available player as of Tuesday afternoon.

More on Clifford Omoruyi, Alabama’s transfer adds

Omoruyi averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game this season for Rutgers this past season. He was a key cog in the Scarlet Knights’ breaking their March Madness drought in 2021, making it to the Round of 32. 

Rutgers also made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, aided by the big man. However, they only made it to the NIT in 2023 and fell in the first round while also missing postseason play this past winter.

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As a member of the Class of 2020, Omoruyi was a four-star recruit out of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 8 center in the class and the No. 47 overall prospect in the class.

Omoruyi previously took visits to Georgetown and Kansas State, according to Tipton. 

Alabama has been active this transfer cycle after losing six players to the portal. The Crimson Tide brought in three newcomers, headlined by Chris Youngblood, who comes in as the No. 68 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings. Omoruyi would be the biggest splash yet for Nate Oats and his staff as Alabama looks to capitalize on last season’s Final Four run – the first in program history.

Former Auburn guard Aden Holloway and former Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette are also on their way to Tuscaloosa.

Nick Kosko contributed to this report.