By ADAM ZAGORIA
Rutgers got a big win and hosted a big visitor on Friday.
For their 82-57 victory over UMass, the Scarlet Knights hosted 6-foot-11 Roselle (N.J.) Catholic big man Cliff Omoruyi on an unofficial.
“I think Rutgers has a lot to offer Cliff and all of the top players in New Jersey,” RC coach Dave Boff said. “It’s a program on the rise that just made a huge commitment to their facilities and is in one of the top leagues in the country. Those factors and the chance to make an impact right away I think are appealing.”
Big Cliff @wizcliff77 was in attendance for @RutgersMBB win over UMass today pic.twitter.com/dkfPldOlhc
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 29, 2019
Ranked the No. 8 center nationally by 247Sports.com, Omoruyi recently trimmed his list to eight schools from 13.
He is now listing Memphis, Kentucky, Arizona State, UConn, Miami, Auburn, Rutgers and N.C. State.
“I just want to thank to you all the coaches that recruited me from my freshman year up until now,” Omoruyi said in this podcast.
Omoruyi took an official visit to Auburn Sept. 13 and plans to commit in the spring. He also attended the Arizona State-Princeton game Tuesday night.
During an in-depth interview with The Clipbaord, @wizcliff77 cuts his college list down. @AdamZagoria @EvanDaniels @Andrew__Slater pic.twitter.com/hY57XpDzV1
— The Clipbord Podcast (@theclipboardpod) November 26, 2019
Omoruyi is a high-motor dunking machine who is still developing his face-up game. He plays at the same high school that produced Isaiah Briscoe (Kentucky), Tyler Roberson (Syracuse), Naz Reid (LSU) and Kahlil Whitney (Kentucky).
One thing to keep in mind here is @wizcliff77 is a very serious student who wants to study Engineering. He even asked @UKCoachCalipari questions about Engineering classes during a meeting so that will factor into his decision. @RutgersMBB also has a strong such program. https://t.co/5bT86vwQy1
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 26, 2019
A native of Nigeria who has only been playing organized basketball for a few years, Omoruyi has drawn comparisons to Clint Capela and Mitchell Robinson. Omoruyi was the most dominant big man in New Jersey last season. He and Kentucky’s Whitney and Temple’s Josh Pierre-Louis helped lead the Lions to the Non-Public B state title game, where they fell to Bryan Antoine, Scottie Lewis
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