It’s never a good sign for your potential staying power when you don’t even have a mug shot in your team’s jersey.
Such is the plight of Ethiopian-descended, Kenyan-born, Minnesota-raised Nuni Omot.
Omot only picked up the game in high school and played junior varsity ball as a junior before a growth spurt made him a collegiate prospect. He ended up at Baylor, via Concordia-St. Paul and Indian Hills Community College, and was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Big 12 last season.
Omot canned his only 3-pointer Wednesday night and was 2-for-2 from the floor. The shooting is there, without question.
It’s the rest of his game that is raw — like freshly ground beef raw. He was whistled for three fouls and his two turnovers helped end a potential late-game comeback for the Nets’ reserves.
Both turnovers were passes where he didn’t so much telegraph where he was going with the ball so much as he sent formal written invitations to New York’s defense to ensure they would be in the path of the pass.
Omot’s athleticism is impressive. His shooting touch is top-notch. But he’ll need time to continue to learn the game before he’s ever ready to contribute at the NBA level and as a 24-year-old rookie, the clock is ticking very fast indeed.