Eugene Omoruyi talks improvements, taking charges, and yoga
Eugene Omoruyi exemplifies what Rutgers basketball is all about. He’s gritty, tough, aggressive, brings hustle, plays solid defense, and is a hard worker.
It’s no wonder he’s yet again the most improved player on the team heading into his junior year.
“Eugene, again, he’s our most improved player. From his freshman year to now, it’s amazing what he’s done. He’s transformed his body and his game,” head coach Steve Pikiell said on Tuesday at Media Day. “He’s making 3’s, practices hard every day, shooting the ball at a high clip, and he does all the other little things. I think he led the league in charges last year which was a great stat for a guy who only started so many games.”
Credit the Rexdale, Ontario, Canada native for fully buying to Pikiell and the culture.
“I’ve learned how to embrace defense and use coach Pikiell’s style of play to become better a player and teammate,” Omoruyi said.
Omoruyi was already a good defender, and as Pikiell mentioned, has been shooting better, too.
Last year, in 32 games and seven starts, he averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds and tallied 31 assists, 28 steals, and 24 blocks. He started the final seven games of the season including all three Big Ten Tournament games and scored in double-digits 10 times.
“I worked on my shooting a lot,” Omoruyi said. “I stayed in the gym late at night and even early in the morning. I focused on the form of my release and just having confidence and the confidence to shoot it. I feel like that’s what I worked on the most. It’s helped me a lot.”
Omoruyi was always on the ground, which may sound like bad thing, but it wasn’t. It was just the opposite. The 6-foot-7, 234-pounder took 28 charges, the most on the team, in the 2017-18 season. Omoruyi seemed to always be good positions in front of the opposing offensive player.
“So, when I first started basketball in 10th grade, I really didn’t know how to move too much on the basketball court. But, the first time I took a charge I felt like it affected their team and my team and it helped us get motivated,” Omoruyi said. “It brought their team down. It gave us the motivation and momentum. At the college level, I wanted to continue doing anything I can to help my team out and for them to know I have their backs.”
In his previous two years “On the Banks”, Omoruyi wore No. 11, but he will now wear No. 5. Former Scarlet Knight guard Mike Williams wore No. 5 during his time at Rutgers so it was taken.
“He didn’t want to give it up,” Omoruyi said with a laugh. “I had been No. 5 my whole life. No. 5 is a very important number to me. My little sister was born in 2005 and I play for her.”
Speaking of Williams, both he and Omoruyi are/were similar to each other with that way they play on the court. Both made impacts on each end of the floor and brought an edge to the game.
“Yeah, he’s a big bro,” Omoruyi said. “He helped me a lot when I came to Rutgers and took me under his wing. He showed me the routes and showed me the right things to do. Him giving me confidence helped me grow and get better over the years as a player.”
And while Omoruyi is a beast on the court, he does something peculiar to keep himself in the zone and calm -- yoga.
“At Orangeville Prep (Ontario), we used to do yoga a lot before games just to relax our bodies and keep calm. I feel like it helps,” Omoruyi said. “Sometimes I get too hyped up so it relaxes myself and gets my body focused on the goal ahead of us.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky