Under the radar: Cluff's road to NCAA domination

• Oscar Cluff has been named a finalist for the Hoop Hall Awards Kareem Abdul-Jabbar NCAA Center of the Year
• He is averaging career-high numbers of 17.4 points and 12.7 rebounds for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
• Transferred to South Dakota State after one season at Washington State University

It’s not often any basketballer is associated with arguably the game’s greatest ever big man - let alone a little-known Australian from the Sunshine Coast.

But that’s what Oscar Cluff’s breakout year with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits has earned him with the 6’11” Queenslander named among the 10 finalists for the Hoop Hall Awards Kareem Abdul-Jabbar NCAA Center of the Year.

The nomination comes during a season where Cluff has become a scary presence in the paint while averaging 17.4 points, 12.7 rebounds and three assists per game, shooting at 65 per cent from the field to help lead the Jackrabbits to third in the Summit League conference with a 9-3 record.

“It feels great. It’s a real honour and just great to see my work paying off,” Cluff said when speaking about the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award nomination.

But Cluff’s journey isn’t just remarkable because of his what he’s done this season – it’s remarkable because of where he has come from.

If you rewind seven years, the now 23-year-old was playing division two representative basketball with the University of Sunshine Coast Rip City – far out of the sights of state coaches, college scouts and even local NBL1 programs. Becoming one of the best bigs in college basketball would have been similar to your Average Joe dreaming of winning the lottery.

Unphased by his circumstances, Cluff remained devoted to working on his craft – a commitment born from his love of the game. His persistence would soon be rewarded.

He was a standout the next two seasons at the under-21 representative level with the Sunshine Coast Phoenix and narrowly missed out on the Queensland state team for the under-20 nationals before making the big move to the US to play at Cochise College – a junior college in Arizona.

It was there he started to realise just how dominant he could become, averaging 12 points and 10.8 rebounds in his first season, then increasing his output to 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in his final season in JUCO. His performances earned him a scholarship with Washington State University, a school synonymous with Australian and Queensland bigs such as Olympians Aron Baynes and Brock Motum as well as Ula Motuga, who starred for the Cougars women’s program.

Cluff played 20.3 minutes per game at Washington State, averaging seven points and 4.4 rebounds, but didn’t feel he could reach his full potential at the school – enter the transfer portal and a move which has him destined for a long professional career. Cluff moved to South Dakota State and has never looked back.

The Jackrabbits star has put up nine 20-point games just this season, with a season-high 30 points coming against Denver in January, to go along with 18 double-doubles – leaving it no surprise to anyone that Cluff was among the finalists for the NCAA Center of the Year.

Looking back on his incredible journey, including playing division two junior basketball, Cluff said there was no way he thought he would make it this far.

“I never (had) a clue where I would end up but just from being persistent in everything that goes into it, it’s all led me here,” he said.

“I think I started late in Australia, so being under the radar was always part of (my journey) having never been a name to look out for in juniors.”

Under the mentoring of Jackrabbits coach Eric Henderson, who has been at the helm of South Dakota State since 2019, Cluff has reached new heights and heaped praise on his coach, saying his improvement was down to the belief Henderson instilled in him.

But with the rules around junior college eligibility changing, meaning Cluff has an extra college season up his sleeve, he still believes he has plenty of improvement left in him as he chases his dream of one day reaching the NBA.

“I think another year might’ve been the best thing for me personally. It could give me another year to put myself out there and get some looks into the NBA,” Cluff said.

“NBA is the main goal for everyone over here in the US playing college ball or even playing anywhere (but) I would also like to play internationally somewhere as well if the opportunity doesn’t present itself (in the NBA).

“The biggest (strengths) in my game is my post work and ability to see the floor, I’m not an athletic guy so using skills is my biggest advantage. As far as improvements I want to make, I’m working on a lot but especially my three ball is one of the biggest.”

While he continues to dominate for the Jackrabbits, yesterday posting a stat line of 21 points and 16 rebounds to beat rivals, the South Dakota Coyotes – Cluff wanted to use his journey to also provide inspiration to younger players back home, especially those who may not play in the division they want to be in or aren’t selected for representative teams.

“My advice is just to keep pushing for your dream and find the right coaches and trust your coaches. Learn to adapt skills from everyone and include them all into your game in your own way,” he said.

You can vote for Cluff as the Hoop Hall Awards Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year here.

The other finalists include Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), Asa Newell (Georgia), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Derik Queen (Maryland), Vladislav Goldin (Michigan), Dawson Garcia (Minnesota), Nate Bittle (Oregon), Robbie Avila (Saint Louis) and Maxime Raynaud (Stanford).