Former Rutgers center Clifford Omoruyi, a top collegiate basketball player in the transfer portal, reportedly turned down a $2 million Name, Image, and Likeness deal when considering offers. Omoruyi announced this week that he has chosen to transfer to Coach John Calipari’s Alabama to exercise his last year of eligibility.
On3’s Joe Tipton reported that Omoruyi had received the offer from a school while going through the portal process. While the school isn’t named, Tipton reported that it was not Alabama.
The center reportedly considered offers from North Carolina, Georgetown, and Kansas State. It’s unclear if any of those schools offered Omoruyi the deal.
After Rutgers senior Cliff Omoruyi announced he was entering the transfer portal following the end of the season, the star is getting interest from some big names around college basketball.
According to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, Kansas, Kentucky and St. John’s are among the schools eyeing Omoruyi. Zagoria noted that Omoruyi is doing Zoom interviews with several schools and has a meeting with Kansas scheduled for next week.
Omoruyi, who spent his first four collegiate seasons with the Scarlet Knights, averaged 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season.
Omoruyi is considered to be the No. 3 overall transfer prospect and the No. 2 center in the portal, per 247 Sports. At 6’11”, Omoruyi will provide rim protection at whichever school he transfers to. He averaged a career-high 2.9 blocks per game this season—the third-most in the NCAA in 2023.
