Cliff Omoruyi looks to finish what he started in final go-round at Rutgers

Cliff Omoruyi’s return to Rutgers for senior season has already begun with preseason all-Big Ten honors. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Steve Pikiell spoke of Cliff Omoruyi for the first time four years ago, guaranteeing that the Nigerian big man, who had starred at local power Roselle Catholic before embarking on his college career at Rutgers, would eventually become one of the best forwards not only in the Big Ten Conference, but the nation as well.

Never one to make a promise he cannot keep, Pikiell was steadfast in both his praise and conviction before the 6-foot-11 Omoruyi even played one minute on the banks. Through patient guidance and one of the most underrated player development regimens in the country, the coach has once again been vindicated as Omoruyi enters his final campaign in Piscataway. Having just been named a preseason all-Big Ten selection, the big man has blossomed in each facet since his debut in 2020 to where he stands now as a player who can defend all five positions and assert himself on either side of the ball.

“Going from a rookie who, I think, led the league in fouls per minute to being all-defensive team two years later is unbelievable in this league,” Pikiell recounted at Rutgers media day this past Tuesday. “The improvements he’s made have just been tremendous. He could guard one through five now, which he couldn’t do as a freshman.”

“I think I’m way better,” Omoruyi echoed, humble in his self-assessment. “In (the NBA), you’ve got to be able to guard one through five if you want to play. I’ve got to just get low and I could guard anybody. That’s what I keep working on. I just want to keep getting better, offensively and defensively.”

This summer was the latest step in Omoruyi’s progression after deciding to test the NBA Draft waters to gauge his professional prospects. Much like former teammate Ron Harper, Jr. before him, Omoruyi went through the pre-draft workout process to get feedback from NBA scouts, and has come away with a greater understanding of what it takes to not only reach the next level, but thrive on it as well. And so far, the implementation is gradual, but thorough and meticulous for one of the more detail-oriented players in the metropolitan area.

“It helped me a lot,” Omoruyi said of the draft process. “Just defensively, they wanted me to be aggressive and also communicate, so I’m going to try my best to just work toward that and get better, be able to communicate and aggressively rebound, and making the right decisions too.”

Rutgers’ media day was preceded by a two-hour practice highlighted by a full-court, one-on-one drill in which Omoruyi dazzled as a ball handler. Having already begun to expand his range last season with a burgeoning perimeter game, he now has perhaps the last piece of the puzzle in his repertoire. Add his desire to graduate and fulfill a promise to his mother to become the first in his family with a four-year degree, and Omoruyi simply has one mission:

Finish what he started.

“What you see today, I’ve seen a lot of good stuff,” Pikiell said of his star’s evolution. “He’s bringing the ball up today, he couldn’t do that in the past. That one-on-one full-court drill really shows his development the last few years. He came back, and he came back to graduate. He’s a dean’s list student, he’s going to take graduate classes. But you saw that one drill, he’s handling the ball, he’s shooting it better, he’s becoming more vocal. The NBA workouts were really beneficial to him. He took some of that feedback and has really worked out. He’s going to be one of the best big guys in the country, and I really appreciate him.”