Pitt makes top 13 of four-star recruit Cliff Omoruyi

Jeff Capel had a productive weekend on the recruiting trail, especially in his effort to land frontcourt talent, as Pitt hosted four-star recruit John Hugley for an official visit and made the top 12 of blue-chip small forward Josh Hall on Friday. Capel and his staff then managed to maintain their momentum on Saturday, as Pitt also landed in the top 13 of Cliff Omoruyi, a top-10 center in the 2020 class.

The 6’10”, 230-pound center out of Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, New Jersey, is a consensus four-star recruit, and each of the top three recruiting sites places him among the top 60 recruits in the nation. Rivals has the lowest opinion of him, placing him at 54th overall. Meanwhile, ESPN has Omoruyi at 47th, and 247Sports places him at 41st.

Omoruyi reeled in 20 offers during his recruitment, but seven programs were cut from contention over the weekend. Along with Pitt, his finalists included Arizona State, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, NC State, Rutgers, St. John’s, Temple and UConn. His notable cuts included Arizona, Miami, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia.

Jerry Meyer, the director of basketball scouting at 247Sports, previously noted that the native of Nigeria “can dominate the paint with his rebounding, shot-blocking and at-the-rim finishing.” Meyer also praised Omoruyi's “impressive physique and tremendous strength” but described him as offensively limited, comparing him to former Kansas power forward Cheick Diallo.

At Pitt, Omoruyi would add much-needed size to a roster with an average height of 6’4 ½”. In addition, he would provide vital defensive support to a team that ranked 100th in the nation in scoring defense during the 2018-19 season, allowing 68.7 points per game.

Omoruyi noted in his top-13 post that he will commit “after basketball season.” However, he did not provide a specific date.