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Message: [QUOTE="Ricker, post: 3405869, member: 1245"] [U]Cliff Omoyuri[/U] The Boneyard is going to kill me for this one, because despite the glowing statements in the earlier posted article in this thread, I was very underwhelmed in relation to what we need to compete for conference and national championships. He did not play bad and accomplished the statistics reported, so it is likely my expectations were just too high. In my mind’s eye, I had come to see him as a 6’10 Oriakhi type player who would own the paint, stand up to power players trying to back him down, get rebounds, and protect the rim. I guess that expectation is unfair because physically, he has thin legs and torso, narrow shoulders, and a lot more in common with Whaley than Oriakhi despite these other reports. Any of the 3 centers on Putnam Science would back him down as if he was Whaley. I liked all 3 of them more. In the Roselle Catholic game vs Bishop Gorman of NV, he threw down 2 spectacular alley oops, and 4 times he garnered a loose ball under his hoop and rose up and threw it down. His 7th basket he went up to dunk from a standing position but was a foot or so farther away from the basket than he thought so it ended up being a finger roll. I hoped I would see he could make the foul line jump shot, but other than the dunk plays, it was tough to evaluate much at all. He never dribbled, he never made a true post move, he never actually took a shot, he never left the paint defensively to guard a player on the perimeter until the desperation of the last minutes. He only blocked a layup from a small driving guard, he was rebounding against 6’6 players, and he didn’t get any of his dunks against the other team’s 6’11 reserve player when that guy was in. He also didn’t make any notable passes. He is ranked as a top 50 player so my guess is he can do a lot more than he showed in this game. Lance Ware at about #40 with the KY offer Cliff covets, proved himself to be a stud against 7’ Evan Mobley ranked #1, and Ware was one of the best players I saw. Maybe KY has a different rating system than the services and has reasons why they haven’t offered big Cliff? My guess is we can ignore Kentucky as a landing place for Cliff. Obviously, I only saw 1 game. If I saw Carlton just once, it might be a 0 point game or a 10 rebound 12 point game and I would come away with wildly different opinions except for his physical traits. Cliff is a good post player, but the player I saw is a good guy to have on the roster in a rotation, unlikely the low post talent to change UConn’s fortunes. Keep in mind he didn't impact this game enough to win it. (Although Neils Lane didn't play). My own opinion is that if it turns out we can add a player for next year, that player should move the needle for us rather than be just another arrow in the quiver. An impact power player at center, a shooter with some secondary skills, or an excellent point guard. If Cliff commits I’ll be routing for him and I have no doubt he'll help. I hated writing this. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach