Rutgers center Clifford Omoruyi to transfer to Alabama men’s basketball

The Alabama men’s basketball program added one other transfer on Sunday — and it’s an enormous one, each actually and figuratively.

Clifford Omoruyi, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound center, announced that he is joining the Crimson Tide for his remaining season of eligibility. Omoruyi — pronounced O-MOR-EE — spent the final 4 years at Rutgers.

A local of Benin City, Nigeria, Omoruyi performed in 121 video games for the Scarlet Knights over the past 4 seasons, with 104 begins. He began every of the final 98 video games during which he performed over the past three seasons. He averaged 10.3 factors, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 26 minutes per sport.

Alabama men’s basketball 2024 transfer portal, NBA draft tracker

This previous season, Omoruyi averaged 10.4 factors, 8.3 rebounds, on 51.4% taking pictures, and a couple of.9 blocks over 26.9 minutes per sport. He performed in and began all 32 video games. Rutgers went 15-17. He was twice named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team and was beforehand a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given yearly to the nation’s greatest center.

Before becoming a member of Rutgers, Omoruyi was thought-about a 4-star prospect and a top-100 recruit within the 2020 recruiting class by 247Sports. After coming into the transfer portal, he was thought-about the No. 13 total prospect, and No. 3 center, within the transfer portal, out of greater than 350 complete portal prospects, by 247.

Omoruyi fills a serious want for an ascending Alabama program.

In 5 years below head coach Nate Oats, the Crimson Tide have posted a 117-54 total report, have twice gained the SEC common season title, twice gained the SEC match championship, reached the Sweet 16 3 times, and the Final Four as soon as.

This previous season, Alabama went 25-12 and reached the Final Four for the primary time at school historical past. The Tide did it largely with out an imposing publish presence, biking by way of Grant Nelson, Nick Pringle, and Mo Wague after each Noah Clowney and Charles Bediako left for the NBA following the 2022-23 season.

Pringle and Wague have each left through the transfer portal (Pringle is headed to South Carolina; Wague hasn’t determined but), making room for Omoruyi. He is the fourth transfer addition for Alabama, together with Aden Holloway (from Auburn), Chris Youngblood (South Florida), and Houston Mallette (Pepperdine).

Those transfer additions will be a part of Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class, which incorporates 4 top-50 prospects: SF Derrion Reid, No. 15 total; PF Aiden Sherrell, No. 30; PG Labaron Philon, No. 32; and SF Naas Cunningham, No. 43. That four-man class is ranked No. 2 nationally in 247Sports’s 2024 nationwide recruiting class rankings.

In 2022-23, Alabama gained 31 video games and earned the No. 1 total seed within the NCAA match. The Tide misplaced 5 of their prime six scorers, mined the transfer portal for mid-major expertise, and reached the primary Final Four at school historical past the next season.

Now Alabama is placing collectively one other proficient roster for the 2024-25 season — one which’s able to taking this system to even greater and higher heights.

Cody Goodwin covers the Alabama Crimson Tide for 247Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.