Who I Watched (3/27): Richie Saunders, Clifford Omoruyi
Thoughts on two potential Exhibit 10 sleepers with tape and numbers.
Here are some draft-related thoughts from Alabama vs. BYU on March 27, 2025 on a couple of 23-year-old potential Exhibit 10 sleepers from each team.
Richie Saunders (BYU)
BOX SCORE: 25 PTS (10/14 FG, 1/2 3P, 4/4 FT), 6 REB (3o/3d), 2 AST, 3 TOV, 4 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PF in 33 MINS
BYU guard Richie Saunders stood out to me with his rim pressure. Only two of his 14 shots were threes, and he was getting downhill and racking up paint touches all game long.
Saunders doesn’t outwardly seem like a dangerous slasher, and he largely needs screens, but he had 155 shots at the rim this season, where he shot 63.9% (99 makes).
Also keep in mind: Saunders only took a pair of triples, but he made 44 3P% (70/159) of his catch-and-shoots this season.
That said, Saunders still has limitations. The 23-year-old1 is listed at 6-foot-5 by BYU, although I'd wager that he's smaller (and he’s an older prospect).
One of my concerns at the next level, which can already happen now, is that Saunders can require too many touches and still struggle to create an advantage.
Saunders was solid enough as a facilitator, even though he had 2 AST to 3 TOV. His moments came in transition or in the open court for the most part, seeing the floor with his head up and making quick decisions.
The BYU prospect is more of a scorer than a facilitator, though, and he needs to be careful with where he places his passes.
Even though BYU got blown out, I thought Sanders was okay on defense individually. He was pesky at the point of attack and aware off-ball. Richie’s athletic limitations = defensive limitations, but he tries, he’s not that small, and he generally knows what’s going on.
My pitch on Saunders as a deep, older sleeper is as a sparkplug scoring guard. As of now, I’d probably have an Exhibit 10 grade on the BYU junior.
Clifford Omoruyi (Alabama)
BOX SCORE: 10 PTS (2/4 FG, 0/0 3P, 6/6 FT), 6 REB (1o/5d), 2 AST, 0 TOV, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 2 PF in 22 MINS
I’ve been interested in now-Alabama big Cliff Omoruyi for a few years now, and I love his fit under Nate Oats. The 23-year-old Nigerian gets to play in an NBA-esque system — and yes, he’s older for a college prospect, but Omoruyi only started playing basketball in the 10th grade.
In terms of the fit specifically, these are things (above) that an NBA big will be asked to do in terms of screening, rolling, finishing plays above the rim, and crashing the glass.
Omoruyi is shooting 74.3% (107/144) at the rim so far, per Synergy, and that percentage could be even better because he's 77/90 on dunks.
The numbers above are Omoruyi’s play profile, per Synergy, this season at Alabama.
Now above, these are his numbers from Rutgers last season.
Alabama has narrowed down Omoruyi’s responsibilities to great effect and eliminated his post-ups (139 possessions at Rutgers vs. 5 at Alabama) in favor of easy catch-and-finish feeds right at the basket.
An important trend to follow this season: Omoruyi is shooting 71.9 FT% (64/89). His previous career-high was 61% (72/118) last season and he's generally shot around 60% from the line. The volume is small, but this would be a significant improvement.
It’s important for NBA bigs to play out of (dribble) hand-offs. I’m very intrigued by this first clip, where Omoruyi keeps the HO and the process is perfect getting to the rim in one dribble, but he then misses an easy thunderous dunk. The Alabama big shows decent dexterity in the second clip.
Omoruyi was productive as a defender with 3 stocks and he was mostly utilized in a deeper position hanging back towards the rim. Truth be told, I don’t think BYU ever put much pressure on the Alabama defense — but Omoruyi was decent.
He was spry guarding ball screens and generally well-positioned. It's worth pointing out that he's a fifth-year player, though, so this should be expected.
The pitch on Omoruyi is as a rim-running, pick-and-roll, play-finishing big who can play a role on a low volume of touches and very probably games/minutes in the short-term. As of now, I’d probably have a two-way or Exhibit 10 grade on him.
In case you were wondering how/why Saunders is a 23-year-old junior because he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Seattle, WA.
BYU head coach Kevin Young (previously with the 76ers and more notably the Suns) “tell[s] every scout that comes through [he] think[s Saunders] is an NBA player.”
“Sources familiar with BYU’s NIL situation believe [Saunders] could command north of $1 million in his final season of eligibility.”