After an incredible campaign last year, Alabama basketball has been on the radar of the entire country throughout the offseason. As the 2024-2025 season still has a while to go, TideIllustrated will be highlighting all 13 members of the Crimson Tide roster.

Next up on our list is the source of perhaps the biggest news of the offseason for head coach Nate Oats’ squad, Rutgers center transfer Clifford Omoruyi.

After entering the portal in late March, Omoruyi was immediately one of the top transfer targets in the country and Alabama was willing to do whatever it took to bring in the highly touted big man from Rutgers. Eventually, after a long recruitment process, Omoruyi inked himself as a member of the Crimson Tide in April.

The former Scarlet Knight is coming off one of the best seasons of his entire career last year as he averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and an incredible 2.9 blocks per game during his senior season at Rutgers.

Not only can Omoruyi easily put up a double-double on a nightly basis, the 6-foot-11 big man is one of the best rim protectors in the country and can block any shot in the vicinity of his 7-foot-6 wingspan. In fact, Omoruyi has averaged over two blocks per game in back-to-back seasons now.

Not surprisingly, the talented big man was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team last season for his efforts, and had the most blocks of any Big Ten player since 2018 with a whopping total of 93.

Now, joining a roster that was looking for a strong rim protection presence since the departure of former center Charles Bediako in 2023, the Crimson Tide got its wish granted and more as Omoruyi will surely be one of the most impactful players on the squad this year.

Here’s three things to know about Omoruyi.

While there has certainly been a lot of controversy and criticisms of the expansion of NIL throughout the last few years, Omoruyi was able to put his money towards a foundation he had been around since he was a kid.

Omoruyi has been involved with the Salvation Army since he was in middle school in Newark, New Jersey. He told the long standing charity that Muhammed Oliver, the manager of the Salvation Army Westside Basketball Program and father figure to Omoruyi, got him involved with the after-school program and he stuck with it.

After having some success on the basketball court at Rutgers, the Nigeria native had some money in his pocket that he decided to use towards the program that guided him farther than he ever could’ve dreamed.

In March of 2023, Omoruyi gave back to the charity by donating $25,000 to redo the basketball center at the Salvation Army Center in Newark in honor of Oliver who had become one of the most impactful people in Omoruyi’s life.

“We bought a shooting gun, a VertiMax (training equipment), painted the whole gym, replaced all the old baskets and put up two new ones,” Oliver told Asbury Park Press. “Last year we put together a travel team that went to Virginia, D.C. and Pennsylvania based off of his contributions.”

“Most of the kids came into this from the stories about Cliff,” Oliver said. “He’s been able to give 210 kids an opportunity to compete on a higher level of basketball that normally wouldn’t get that.”

Growing up in Benin City, Nigeria, about 400 miles from NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon’s hometown, Omouryi hardly touched a basketball and never played in an organized game despite his 6-foot-8 stature at 14 years old.

Not surprisingly, he was hit with several questions regarding a basketball career in his home country, but he had always grown up playing soccer.

Eventually, Omoruyi and his family started taking basketball a little more seriously and was eventually connected to Muhammed Oliver in New Jersey who agreed to be a caretaker over the young Omouryi, find him a good high school, and find a new home in the United States.

After several months of prayer, paperwork, and planning, Omooruyi was finally prepared to complete the immigration process and start a career and a new life about 5,000 miles away from home.

He arrived in the United States in 2016 at John F. Kennedy Airport and immediately joined Oliver and his son on a local basketball court in New Jersey, sparking an eventual impressive career.

Soon after, Omoruyi started playing on the AAU circuit, worked with a trainer, and enrolled at Queen of Peace High School. However, a fractured fibula would set him back a while in his progression in which he would eventually return to the floor in a state tournament game where he scored 22 points, grabbed 10 boards, and recorded five blocks.

“He didn’t want to run from that challenge,” Oliver told NJ.com. “He said he never ran away from an obstacle and in order to succeed in life, he believed he needed to succeed anywhere.”

From there, it was obvious that Oliver had found a special talent.

After coming into the United States at a young age and adapting to the high school life in New Jersey, Omouryi wasn’t able to see his family for a long time due to passport struggles overseas.

However, as a senior at Roselle Catholic, Omoruyi shared an emotional night with his brother whom he had not seen in over half a decade.

Omoruyi was a star basketball player in high school who was a four-star recruit and was one of the top players in the state of New Jersey at the time. He got tons of attention from big schools such as UConn, Kentucky, and Florida and had everything going right for him as a player.

Despite all the success he got on the floor, he had to live with the struggle of being apart from his family for so long. Omoruyi called his mother and his siblings frequently throughout high school, updating them about his life in America and his quickly growing career as a basketball player.

Though he heard their voices on a daily basis, he was never able to see any of them in person until his mentor, Muhammed Oliver set everything up for Omoruyi’s high school senior night in February of 2020.

Due to Omoruyi’s mother having an expired passport at the time, she was unfortunately not able to attend the game, but his brother, Alfred, was able to receive a visa to visit the country and see his younger brother.

During the ceremony, Omoruyi’s name was called out to be honored as he received his flowers and certificate, but his attention was pointed over to the other side of the gym where his older brother stood.

Immediately after, Omoruyi broke down into tears as he sprinted over to his brother to give him a big hug and share the emotional moment together.