MIAMI (WSVN) - A new University of Miami Hurricanes player is taking fans by storm.
Norchad Omier is the first player born and raised in Nicaragua to play Division 1 college basketball.
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound player has an appetite for the ball and he makes sure to let his team know by shouting ‘baby food’ in the middle of games.
“[One day] I was just like, ‘feed me, give me the ball.'” said Omier. “This is baby food. It just stuck. They repeated it every day after that.”
Head Coach Jim Larrañaga knows what comes next whenever Omier sees a mismatch.
“He’ll yell to his teammates, ‘baby food, baby food,'” said Larrañaga. “Initially, no one knew what the heck that meant, but you pretty soon learn that he’s calling for the ball. He wants the ball so he can go to work and that’s what his teammates have done, they’ve gotten him the ball in great offensive situations.”
Fans cannot get enough of the basketball team’s newest player who has quickly become a fan favorite.
Enthusiasts even went as far as printing giant cutouts of Omier’s head with his mouth open, baby food with the UM logo and a spoon. According to one fan, the trio of cutouts is to “take the baby food and give it straight to Norchad and that’s how you do it.”
“When he’s open, pass [Norchad] the ball — baby food,” said J.D. The Boss, another Hurricanes fan. “It’s like baby food to him. You pass [him] the ball, I promise you — you know how baby food is so smooth and good? Pass him the ball [because] he’s gonna score.”
The first-year player is averaging over 14 points and over 10 rebounds in each game.
Omier played high school basketball at Miami Preparatory School, went to Arkansas State University and then transferred to the University of Miami.
“Part of that helped me to get to this point right now,” said Omier. “I just feel like I’m around a great team. I really look up to all my teammates and I think they [look up] to me too. I think I’m in the right spot [with] the right coaches. I just feel like everything is going so well.”
As the interview came to an end, Mike DiPasquale offered Omier a wildberry-flavored baby food and to the basketball player’s surprise, he enjoyed the taste.
“It’s actually good,” said Omier. “I forget the taste, but yea it’s good. I might [start eating baby food pregame]. It really tastes good and I like this flavor.”
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