TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Let the record show, the first Cliff block occurred 54 seconds into Alabama basketball’s season. The first Cliff bucket followed 15 seconds later. If Monday night’s opener is any indication, the Crimson Tide will see plenty of both this season.
Clifford Omoruyi lived up to his high billing during his Alabama debut, recording 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks during the Tide’s 110-54 win over UNC Asheville. The Rutgers transfer did his damage over just 19 minutes, posting a plus-22 point differential during that span.
That’s the type of production head coach Nate Oats had in mind when he plucked Omoruyi from the transfer portal this summer.
“That’s pretty efficient basketball,” Oats said of Omoruyi’s performance. “I don’t know that I’m going to expect 16 and eight in 19 minutes every night. … It doesn’t get much more efficient than that.
Omouryi was 6 of 6 from the floor, scoring all of his baskets at the rim. The 6-foot-11 forward had a pair of dunks and three rebounds during a 13-0 run in the first half. He also added two more dunks and a pair of boards to cap off a 9-0 run midway through the second period.
“It was a good feeling just going against another opponent,” Omoruyi said. “We’ve been going at in in practice. Just being able to come out and play was really fun. I’m just happy to be here.
Omoruyi’s big night came as he continued to deal with a tweaked back that Oats said has been bothering him in recent weeks. While that contributed to his decreased minutes Monday night, Oats also plans to give his big man more rest than he received at Rutgers.
Omoruyi averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks over 26.9 minutes per game for the Scarlet Knights last season. Oats said his goal is to play Omoruyi roughly 20-25 minutes per game.
“Our pace is so much faster [than Rutgers], and he needs to be explosive in his minutes,” Oats said. “The bigger games, he’ll probably play more than 19 minutes like he did tonight.”
Alabama has the luxury of keeping Omoruyi fresh thanks to its new revamped frontcourt.
Five-star freshman Aiden Sherrell earned the Hard Hat Award, recording 6 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds off the bench. Mo Dioubate also put in a gritty effort off the bench, recording 11 points and seven rebounds, while Jarin Stevenson chipped in 10 points and seven boards in just the sixth start of his career.
That combination allowed Alabama to outrebound UNC Asheville 55-29 while outscoring the Bulldogs 56-18 in the paint.
“I think we’ve got a lot of different ways we can go with that,” Oats said of his frontcourt depth. “You can put a good shooter on the floor, Aiden Sherrell at the five. Grant [Nelson] and Jarin Stevenson, and Jarin’s been shooting it really well. Those guys all have some toughness to them, too. You can go with some really tough defensive-minded groups like Cliff, Mo Dioubate and Derrion Reid, who we can kind of put at the three as well as the four.
“We’ve got some versatility. I think we tried a little bit of everything out there, and we’ll continue to try different lineups together.”
Regardless of how Oats decides to roll out his frontcourt, Omoruyi will typically be a big part of Alabama’s plans. Judging by Monday’s small sample size, the big man is going to play a large part in the Tide’s success as well.
