Cliff Omoruyi left Rutgers for a payday just as the program arrived. He has no regrets. | Politi

LAS VEGAS — The lobby of the MGM Grand casino isn’t the ideal setting for a college graduation ceremony, but Randi Larson didn’t have many options. The longtime Rutgers academic advisor pulled up Pomp and Circumstance on her phone, turned the volume up as high as it would go, and hoped the one student receiving his degree would appreciate the effort.
Cliff Omoruyi flashed a wide smile familiar to anyone who has followed the Scarlet Knights over the past half decade. He had promised his mother that he would graduate when he left Nigeria as a scrawny teenager, and even though the 6-foot-11 center didn’t stick around long enough last spring to wear the mortar board, he had accomplished that goal.