11/11/2021 basketball Edit

Clifford Omoruyi steals the show in Rutgers win over Lehigh

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

Ladies and gentlemen, Cliff Omoruyi.

The Rutgers men's basketball team center was hyped up all offseason. With Myles Johnson off to UCLA, the floor was open for the former four-star and second-year freshman to rise up and shine.

And boy did he.

In Rutgers' 73-70 overtime win against Lehigh on Wednesday night, Omoruyi led the Scarlet Knights with 16 points, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. He made 7-of-13 shots and was 2-for-3 on foul shots. He also had an assist.

He also got Jersey Mike's Arena going with an alley-oop for the game's first points right off the jump.

"That just gave me energy," Omoruyi said. "It boosted me up energy wise."

Omoruyi spent the night dazzling the crowd with thunderous one-handed dunks. He soared high for rebounds, displayed some post moves, and the ran court as hard and fast as he could every time up and down.

“We’re in good hands at the five spot," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said. "I love this guy. He's as good of worker as we've ever had in the program. He's getting better and better every day. One (rebound) away from a double-double. Really, really excited about his development and how he's a great teammate.”

During the offseason, Omoruyi was constantly in the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center working on his game. It's no wonder he looks as improved, stronger, and athletic than he did a year ago.

"He’s good, enjoy him for 30 games, hopefully more than that," Pikiell said at Media Day. "He is top shelf and as good an athlete that we have ever had here. He can block shots, his work ethic is off the charts, he’s making 15-footers now, and his free throw percentage is much better. I don’t think people realize how hard it is to come into the best league as a freshman and he was also playing behind a four-year guy too, then on top of it he got injured. …Cliff is just getting better and better with his experience, maturity and he’s a dean’s list student too. He is going to have a really good year and we should really enjoy him. He is as impactful as a big guy as we’ve had here in a Rutgers uniform.”

Omoruyi played in 23 games with six starts in 2020-21, averaging 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds with 16 blocks all while shooting 63.2%. He was the first freshman since Gregory Echinique in 2008 to post a double-double in his debut when he had 14 points and 11 boards last Nov. 25 against Sacred Heart.

Omoruyi flashed at times a year ago when he wasn't hampered by his injury, and he got to soak up knowledge from Johnson and the rest of the big men.

"I learned a lot from him. He had experience," Omoruyi said. "I learned I had to stay out of foul trouble and just go hard."

Omoruyi also knows without his former teammate, more is needed from him.

"It's really good. People are expecting a lot from me," Omoruyi said. "I just have to keep going hard."

Ron Harper Jr. sees Omoruyi every day in practice. He knows how much work he's put in even just by himself. Harper Jr. seeds big things ahead for the 6-foot-11, 240-pounder from Nigeria.

"Cliff only showed flashes what he could do last year. Cliff's a great player," Harper Jr. said. "He's a hard worker, and everything he shows you is as a product of what he does outside of games, the work puts him before practice and after practice. Me and Cliff have a great relationship and we joke around. He gets mad at me because I steal his rebounds. Cliff had a great game, and we're gonna keep putting him in a spot to get him dunks and so he can show that jump shot off a little bit. Cliff's gonna have a tremendous season and we're all proud of him. We expect him to keep pushing."

Playing in his first game with fans, Omoruyi thought back to when he was a recruit and the crowds were rocking then.

"It was really crazy," Omoruyi told TKR. "I remember they were shouting. I didn't know they were shouting my name. I thought they were saying 'Let's go Rutgers'. The fans really showed they love me. The energy was crazy."