March Madness has ended for Baylor after a loss to Cooper Flagg –widely anticipated to hear his name first during the 2025 NBA Draft –and Duke in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. VJ Edgecombe, also expected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft, led the way for the Bears with 16 points on 6-12 shooting. However, the already atrocious point differential would’ve been much worse had Norchad Omier on the floor.
But what’s new?
2025 NBA Draft: Norchad Omier Scouting Report
Edgecombe and fellow freshman Robert Wright III have drawn the most attention from NBA scouts. Yet, Omier’s been a rock since transferring from Miami (FL), both literally and figuratively. His biggest strength is arguably his strength, the Nicaragua native often muscling away opponents. Yet, while he posted a double-double in five consecutive seasons, it wasn’t because he was the largest player.
Offense
Omier primarily plays center but he’s 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds.
His upper body, core, and leg strength allow him to wall off his man with what looks to be ease. This allows him to gain some separation. To get the rest, he uses pivots, shot fakes and step-thrus while looking to catch his man off balance. All he needs is enough space to get a shot off with either hand, whether it’s a layup or hook shot. Because of his athleticism, he’s also an effective threat as a roller and lob threat.
Though he’s never averaged more than 1.5 assists per game, he also has a natural feel as a passer. Those playmaking instincts help the Bears easy buckets, whether it’s a designed or broken play. Yet, with how often he operates in the middle of the floor, it helps him be a zone-buster.
So does his rebounding ability.
Rebounding
While explosive enough to consistently finish above the rim, Omier doesn’t have to climb the ladder to crash the glass. His physical tools, including a 7-foot-0 wingspan, definitely help. His box-out technique came straight out of a textbook. However, he also moves around the court like he can never run out of energy. With that in mind, second-chance points (and 50-50 balls in general) can often be the difference between winning and losing.
Omier’s and motor help him be a winning player without having to score at all.
Defense
With his physical profile, Omier is capable of guarding every position on the floor. He has plenty of experience with it too. Yet, he’s more than just a player who can switch on defense. He’s also a useful shot-blocker. Despite his lack of height, he’ll turn players away at the rim, even coming from the weakside. He has the uncanny ability to get his hands on 3s, even if he has to race across the court to get there.
He isn’t a lockdown defender but he’s a distinctively effective one.
NBA Draft Projection
If Omier becomes more consistent from outside, he could easily have a long NBA career. However, he’s a career 31.4 percent 3-point shooter. At 23 years old, that may just be who he is as a player. At least, that’s what multiple teams will likely tell themselves, due to the association between youth and potential.
In many cases, those franchises will have been right, but players defying expectations isn’t out of the ordinary. Yet, Omier only began playing basketball at 13, when many other players had long been exposed to youth circuits and grassroots programs. It’s possible that he’s just a late bloomer.
Still, even without the 3-ball, he’s an x-factor due to his multi-positional defense, rebounding prowess, low-post scoring, and playmaking upside. Though he’s undersized as a center, the league is teetering between being traditional and semi-positionless. That helps make a tweener like Omier a potential weapon; one that could matchup well in smaller lineups.
Perhaps that’s not enough reason to select him in the first round but it would be a travesty if he wasn’t drafted. There aren’t 60 prospects that are better.
© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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