When Oscar Cluff touched down at Tucson International Airport to begin a new life in America over two years ago, the Australian big man hopped on a ride to Douglas and immediately began soaking up the scenery.
“I sent my parents a photo of a cactus,” he said. “That was the first thing I did.”
The next photo wasn’t so exotic. Saying he was in “complete shock” over the transition from his sea-oriented life on Australia’s Sunshine Coast to the Arizona border town, where he would play two years for Cochise College before joining Washington State’s now-surging basketball program, Cluff was dropped off at his “Camp Cochise” dorm room.
He looked around and wondered how his 6-foot-11 frame could possibly get comfortable. Then he snapped that other photo.
“It looked like a jail cell,” Cluff said. “There was a single bed, maybe a little bit smaller. And then a chair and table in the room. I was just like, `Oh, send a photo to my family.’ It was like `Oh, sh—.’ “
Sunshine Coast, Australia, native Oscar Cluff is playing basketball for Washington State these days, but he made his mark on Cochise College’s Douglas campus. His likeness, honoring his NJCAA Second-Team All-America nod in 2023, still flies on Cochise’s campus.
And that was just life stuff. The first time Cluff suited up for Cochise on the court, there was no indication whatsoever that he would be returning to Southern Arizona this week as the starting center for a WSU team that will battle Arizona for first place in the Pac-12.
It was a juco event at Chandler in October of 2021, when Cluff felt nerves throughout his body, struggling to compete at a new level of competition, in a new environment, for a new coach and with new teammates.
Before long, his play was prompting Cochise coach Jerry Carrillo’s phone to buzz in a not-so-good-way.
“There were a few people there who texted coach Carrillo and said `Where did you get this guy from? You know, he kind of sucks,’ “ Cluff said.
Asked to verify that moment via text message Wednesday, Carrillo quickly shot back with a confirmation.
“Yes,” Carrillo said. “Weekend Jamboree, October 2021. He didn’t perform too well…lol.”
LOL. Cluff and Carrillo can laugh about it now because Cluff isn’t anything like that player or person anymore.
Washington State forward Oscar Cluff (45) and Arizona guard Pelle Larsson go after a rebound during the second half of the Cougars' win over the Wildcats last month in Pullman, Washington. Cluff, a two-year standout at Cochise College, returns to Southern Arizona with the Cougars in a showdown Thursday that portends have major Pac-12 championship implications.
Once he got over the shock of not being anywhere near the coast, unable to quench his passion for surfing and deep sea fishing, Cluff grew to appreciate his junior-college stopover, while learning from teammates who arrived from also-distant places such as Baltimore and Philadelphia.
“It was cool in a sense because you’re there with a hundred people and you are all going through the same thing,” Cluff said. “You can build more of a connection with those people because you’d see them every now and then. I’ve got a few really good strong friendships there.”
Some of those friends are scheduled to join Carrillo along with Cluff’s father and stepmother at the WSU-Arizona game on Thursday, a scenario that would have seemed foreign in so many ways just two seasons ago.
While Cluff began developing as a freshman at Cochise in 2021-22, averaging a double-double while shooting 75% from the field, he still was hardly on the major-college recruiting radar, and not on the pass list for games at places like Arizona as part of an official or unofficial recruiting visit.
Washington State forward Oscar Cluff, pictured controlling the ball during the second half of the Cougars' upset-bid over Arizona on Jan. 13, enters Thursday's rematch averaging 8.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his his first season with the Cougars after two years in Southern Arizona playing for legendary coach Jerry Carrillo at Cochise College.
Not only could Cluff not envision playing at McKale, he couldn’t even envision watching a game there.
“I didn’t have the money,” Cluff said. “It was like `Oh, I’ll go spoil myself one night and go to a U of A game.’ ”
Never happened. Until now, when Cluff will get in for free because he’ll be on the floor to face the Wildcats.
That’s happening now because Cluff’s freshman year turned into a starring role as a sophomore, whgen he was named a second-team juco all-American after leading juco players nationally with a field goal percentage at 74.8% — and leading the Apaches to a 22-0 conference record.
“We ran everything through him,” Carrillo said. “He was very effective. He had a great feel for the game.”
Recruiting interest followed from Saint Mary’s, Mississippi State, Cal and Washington State, while UA associate head coach Jack Murphy pored over videos Carrillo sent him even though the Wildcats were recruiting other bigs.
Washington State forward Oscar Cluff controls the ball during the second half against Arizona in Pullman, Washington, last month.
“We knew he was good big man, skilled and tough,” Murphy said. “I thought coach Carrillo did a great job with him and now Washington State has.”
The Cougars snagged Cluff in part because Cougars coach Kyle Smith and assistant Jim Shaw have both known Carrillo for nearly three decades, with Smith and Carrillo having even played pickup ball together.
“He’s a coach’s coach,” Smith said of Carrillo. “He believes in program, believes in attitude and hard work and if you’ve ever seen his practice that’s it. That’s important for us. If we can find someone that’s talented enough that we’re in the ballpark with (to recruit), who has good, two-year training (in junior college), we think they’ll make that jump easier.”
That pretty much explains this season. Cluff has started most of the season at center for the Cougars alongside fellow juco alum Isaac Jones at the core of what has become the Pac-12’s hottest teams.
Cluff is averaging 8.3 points and 5.2 rebounds while blocking just over a shot per game and torpedoing opposing offenses with his screening ability – as Carrillo noted after WSU guard Myles Rice hit a critical late 15-foot jumper en route to 18 points in the Cougars’ 73-70 win over Arizona last month in Pullman.
“I thought he got Myles some really clutch screens at the end of the Arizona game, and helped upset them” Carrillo said. “We’re very proud of Oscar down here at Camp Cochise. There’s no two ways about that.”
Cliff could be a problem for Arizona again Thursday. Jones has the big numbers inside, averaging 15.7 points and 7.6 rebounds, but UA coach Tommy Lloyd expressed plenty of respect for Cluff.
“He’s tough and he’s got some old-man game but I think what’s underrated about him is he’s a really good athlete,” Lloyd said. “I think he moves well. He’s kind of light and quick on his feet. The word you’d use for some big guys back in the day would be a plodder. He’s definitely not a plodder.”
This is where the intersection of Cluff’s off- and on-court experiences might intersect. Saying he was already 6-foot-3 as an eighth grader, Cluff grew up struggling to keep up with friends while surfing off the Sunshine Coast, his long frame naturally more prone to wobbles and wipeouts.
“Definitely,” Cluff said. “But you want to hang out with your friends and do what they’re doing. You want to learn. Otherwise your’e not going to be doing anything.”
So he did it. He surfed. Still can today, at 6-foot-11.
It’s just that he couldn’t surf in Douglas and certainly can’t now in Pullman, either.
So Cluff rides a different wave these days, hoping his momentum on the basketball court can to can take him back to Australia or another country for professional basketball someday.
“I didn’t think I was gonna be playing at this level when I first came over here,” Cluff said. “I was like maybe low major (Division I) or something like that. Just kept developing and it’s crazy. I’m just enjoying it as much as I can while I’ve got it.”
Washington State student-athlete Oscar Cluff joined Pac-12 Network after the Cougars defeated Oregon State by a final score of 65-58 on Thursday, Jan. 4 in Pullman. Cluff set career highs in points (20), rebounds (8) and blocks (3) in the victory. (Pac-12 Networks YouTube)
