A member of the 2021 All-PAC 12 team, Eugene Omoruyi found his calling card in his lone season at Oregon. Despite being 24 years old, Omoruyi is late to basketball, starting to play competitively at 16. As a senior, Omoruyi averaged 17 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.6 BPG, and 2.3 TOPG on shooting splits of 47/38/77. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Eugene Omoruyi
Height/Weight: 6’7/ 237
Wingspan/ standing reach: 7’1 ¼ / 8’9 ½
Hand size: 9
Position: Forward
Pre-Draft team: Oregon
Tools: Shooting, size
Pros:
- Good spot up shooter
- Long arms and NBA ready body
- Strong defender that can switch onto some guards when engaged
- Comfortable taking contact on the defensive end and drawing charges
- Skilled in the post & has a reliable up & under
- Moves well off-ball; should thrive in motion offense
- Reliable post fadeaway jumper
- Good open-floor athlete
- Can drive off of pump fakes
Cons:
- Needs to improve pull-up shooting
- Can force unnecessarily difficult shots
- Off-hand on jumper needs to be more fluid- exaggerated guide hand
- Isn’t always in stance defensively and can ball-watch off-ball
- Doesn’t have very good recovery ability, especially against guards
- Needs to reduce foul troubles
- Finishing is a swing skill that could likely swing negative
- Must reduce turnovers
Overall:
Eugene Omoruyi broke out after sitting out last season following a transfer to Oregon from Rutgers. His jump shooting and post scoring were his main sources of success, but he also showed flashes of playmaking, defense, and athleticism. As a shooter, Omoruyi needs to improve fluidity in his jump shot, particularly in his guide hand, which he exaggerates the split of his two hands off the ball. However, he has good shooting touch and moves very well off-ball to get to his spots. If he can shoot coming off of screens, which he did just 8 times at Oregon, Omoruyi will have a greater chance to make an NBA impact. Omoruyi also offers post scoring in a variety of ways: post jumpers, including a Dirk fadeaway, a drop stop, and a strong up & under move. Due to his strength and post skill, this was rather successful at Oregon, but it shouldn’t be relied upon very much in the NBA that has moved away from post-up possessions outside of switches.
Omoruyi has playmaking potential, but can play out of control at times and premeditate his passes, which played a big part of his turnovers and assists being equal at Oregon. He has good vision and can see over defenses, especially out of the post. Defensively, Omoruyi has the physical tools to succeed, but can be his own worst enemy due to late reaction time, ball-watching, often being out of stance, and mediocre recovery ability, especially against guards. Omoruyi is likely a candidate for an exhibit 10 or two-way contract as a shooter, and should get a shot in Summer League to prove his value.
Similar to: Erik McCree, Marcus Derrickson, Mike Scott
Projected draft range: Undrafted
Expected role: Shooter with some versatility
Unplayable if: Shot selection plagues him, shooting doesn’t translate, and his defense is underwhelming.
Exceeds expectations if: Shooting translates, and he takes it up a notch by being lethal coming off of screens, and he adds a strong secondary skill, likely passing or defense. He also learns to avoid simple mistakes & lapses in this scenario.
Shot chart:
