UNC basketball misses on transfer target with portal loss to painful foe

Hubert Davis has orchestrated another strong start to the North Carolina Tar Heels offseason thus far. The UNC head coach worked the transfer portal beautifully a year ago, which led to the Heels securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and earning a Sweet 16 berth. But that wasn't a one-year wonder for Davis in trying to keep this thing rolling in Chapel Hill.

In terms of incoming transfers, Davis secured much-needed outside shooting amid Cormac Ryan's departure with the commitment of Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, but also secured a return from Seth Trimble after the uber-athletic North Carolina guard had initially entered the portal. Oh yeah, Davis also ensured that program legend RJ Davis will be back with the Tar Heels as well.

However, the work isn't done, specifically in the transfer portal. One of the big questions facing UNC basketball this offseason has been how the Tar Heels will replace legendary big man Armando Bacot after he exhausted his remaining eligibility in the 2023-24 season. Jalen Washington is returning and in line for a bigger role, but most expect Davis to work in the portal to secure more depth in the frontcourt.

Unfortunately, one target for North Carolina has seen Davis come up empty as former Rutgers big man Clifford Omoruyi has made his decision and, while UNC was in his final four, they weren't the ones to land the commitment. But to make matters worse, his choice of landing spot will sting a bit for Tar Heels fans.

UNC basketball loses Clifford Omoruyi to Alabama in transfer portal

On Sunday, Omoruyi announced that he has committed to play for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide, as reported by On3 Sports. He chose Bama over North Carolina, Georgetown and Kansas State.

That's definitely a twist of the knife as Alabama, of course, was the program that ousted North Carolina in March Madness with a hotly contested and thrilling Sweet 16 matchup with the Crimson Tide edging out the Heels.

Beyond just the optics of a second big loss to Alabama in the past couple of months, though, not landing Omoruyi is a blow in itself for UNC basketball. The veteran big man averaged 10.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game for the Scarlet Knights last season and would've seemingly been an ideal pairing with Washington in the Tar Heels frontcourt.

Now, after missing on Omoruyi, the options are a bit slim right now for the Heels in the portal. Omoruyi was the 13th overall player in the transfer portal according to 247Sports and the third-ranked center. Now, the only uncommitted Top 10 center in the portal is Great Osobor, who the Tar Heels have not yet been connected to.

That doesn't mean that UNC is going to come up empty and the Heels do have 3-star James Brown coming in as a freshman as well. But even still, losing out on Omoruyi should be an event that turns up the heat on Davis and the North Carolina to figure out how they'll replace Bacot in totality and making sure they do so quickly.