Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi recently participated in a pre-draft workout with the Boston Celtics, according to HoopsHype's running tracker. The 6-foot-11 big man is currently projected to be undrafted, but still shows some promise.
Omoruyi is coming off of his fifth and final college season. He spent four years at Rutgers before transferring to play for the Crimson Tide as a super-senior. The Nigerian appeared in 37 games for Alabama, playing about 19.2 minutes each time. Despite that being his fewest since his freshman season, Omoruyi was still impactful, averaging 7.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 73.4% from the field.
Does Clifford Omoruyi make sense for the Celtics?
Yes, but maybe as an undrafted free agent. If you scour the internet looking at mock drafts or big boards, you're not likely to find Omoruyi within the top 60. For example, ESPN has him ranked as the 73rd best prospect in the 2025 draft class.
There are several other center prospects who are ranked far higher and could be more suitable prospects for Boston to use either the 28th or 32nd picks on. With that being said, he is the first center that the Cs have worked out so far.
Maybe they're considering him for a spot on their squad for the Las Vegas Summer League, who knows?
Projections aside, Omoruyi is an intriguing player who could fill a big need for Boston next season. There's no guarantee, but there's a world where Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet are all on different teams when training camp rolls around in September. Even if all three are back, Porzingis' injury concerns and Horford's age open the door for available rotation minutes at the center spot.
Drafting one guy and maybe signing a second could be the smartest path forward for the Celtics.
If Boston wants a player who seems capable of filling a low-usage offensive role while protecting the rim and cleaning the glass on defense, Omoruyi could be their guy.
His 2024-25 campaign with the Crimson Tide was a great example of how he could help an NBA team. The Tide literally only asked Omoruyi to set screens, roll, and dunk the ball on offense. Seeing him buy in and thrive in this role is a positive because if he were to be drafted or signed by the Celtics, he'd be doing that exact same thing for them.
The 23-year-old has great explosiveness and launches himself to the rim at lightning speed. Almost all of his field-goal attempts came within the paint, which is why he was able to convert on nearly 74% of them. As someone who lacks a jump shot altogether, this sort of hyper-efficiency at the rim will be vital to any real role Omoruyi plays in the association.
The non-shooting big man is a dying breed in the NBA, but there are a few who still impact the game at a high level. Considering that one of them, Kornet, has thrived in Boston for the past two years, it's not hard to imagine that the same success could await Omoruyi if he is given the opportunity.
He's the sort of player who fans would love, too. He works his tail off on the glass. Last season, he had a defensive rebounding rate of 23.6% and an offensive rebounding rate of 9.8%. Securing extra possessions is a great way for a fringe guy to earn a real spot in the rotation.
#BlueCollarBasketball courtesy of Clifford Omoruyi! pic.twitter.com/xDiTKy8IRw
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 15, 2025
Defensively, Boston would be getting a paint protector. Throughout his college career, Omoruyi had a block rate of nearly 8%. He thrived as a help defender who could erase shots at the rim. The drawback here is that there are times when he'll be out of position or undisciplined -- very similar to the things Celtics fans have watched Neemias Queta struggle with at times.
Nonetheless, Omoruyi seems like he could be NBA-ready. His six-foot-eleven, 240-pound frame and seven-foot-six wingspan give him all of the physical tools needed to be a serviceable rotation big man in the league.
He just feels like he might be a finished product with no real room for hypothetical upside, which is likely why he's ranked so low on draft boards.
Nonetheless, he'd be an exciting prospect to see suit up for the Celtics at Summer League, so I'll be rooting for that.
For a more in-depth look at potential Celtics prospects, check out the "How 'Bout Them Celtics" draft preview, where Jack Simone and I run through plenty of names with No Ceilings' Tyler Rucker.