Norchad Omier Describes Miami Reunion as a ‘Dream’
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While this season is Norchad Omier’s first with the Hurricanes, he has already played competitive basketball in the Miami area.
Omier attended Miami Prep as a postgraduate student from 2019–20, and he dominated in his one season at the school. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 26.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game in 46 appearances. He led his team to a 41-5 record.
Despite his postgraduate success, Omier did not receive much interest from Division I schools, even though he wanted to play for the Hurricanes. He signed his letter of intent with the one college that gave him an offer: Arkansas State.
“Playing for Miami Prep, getting recruited in high school, I always wanted to play for Miami,” Omier said. “Making this dream become true, it’s just like, I can’t explain. It just feels really good and I’m happy being in this city.”
The Nicaraguan native was impactful in his two seasons at Arkansas State.
Omier averaged 15.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in 52 contests with the Red Wolves. He was even recognized as the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season.
One of the things that drew Omier to Miami was the team’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament run last year. The Hurricanes advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, and the forward watched and admired the tenacity that his future team showed.
“They never give up,” Omier said about what he learned about the Hurricanes during their tournament journey. “Miami struggled a little bit … I just see the guys, they never give up. They just work so hard, they play so hard and they made history last year. I want to be a part of the history and do great stuff.”
Still, Miami’s on-court success was not the only factor at play in Omier’s choice to commit to UM. His bond with Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga, the winningest coach in program history, also had an impact on his decision.
“There is so much great things to talk about [Larrañaga],” Omier said. “The way he coaches, the way he tries to … bring it every day. You learn something new from him every moment. I like sitting down and talking with him about life, not just basketball, but when it comes to basketball it’s crazy how much knowledge he has about it because he’s been in this for a minute now so I just like that.”
Larrañaga has high expectations for Omier at Miami, but the head coach understands the leap in competition that he will be facing from the SBC to the Atlantic Coast Conference, which routinely sends frontcourt players to professional leagues on an annual basis.
“The biggest thing for Norchad is making the jump from a mid-major level to the ACC and going against the size of the athlete that we face every single night,” the head coach said.
Added Larrañaga, “Norchad is a high-energy young man. He’s physically strong. He jumps very well. He’s got a nice shooting touch, but he’s also kind of young to the game in terms of what American college basketball is like. He’s learning our way of doing things, and hopefully he’ll get a lot of help from his teammates.”
The 2021–22 SBC Defensive Player of the Year’s help will likely come from Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack, as well as returning veterans Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller.
Even with this veteran leadership already at Miami, Omier has taken charge to help the incoming freshmen make the transition from high school to college basketball.
Miami’s 2022 first-year class features three frontcourt players in AJ Casey, Favour Aire and Danilo Jovanovich, as well as 6-foot-7 guard Christian Watson. Omier has taken these freshmen under his wing in the hope of helping lead the Hurricanes to their first-ever National Championship.
“I try to be a leader every day on the court … I’ve been in college for a while now so I try to help the freshmen every day,” Omier said. “I just try to do everything, we want to win a championship. If I need to just rebound, don’t score, just play hard every day, I just want to do whatever it takes to win a championship.”
Omier and Miami are off to a strong start in this championship quest. The Hurricanes defeated IUP in an exhibition game last Saturday, with Omier scoring 10 points on efficient 5-for-7 shooting from the field in addition to his relentless rebounding and stout defense.
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