The North Florida men’s basketball program can thank social media for bringing Kamril Oriol to their attention two years ago.
After two seasons at The Master’s University in California, Oriol wanted to make the jump to Division I basketball, but found no takers.
Because NAIA players don’t appear on the NCAA’s official transfer portal, the UNF coaching staff wasn’t even aware he was looking to move back to Florida.
“He almost slipped through the cracks,” interim coach Bobby Kennen said.
Fortunately for Oriol and the Ospreys, emphasis on “almost.” UNF saw Oriol’s April 8, 2024, post on X (formerly Twitter) and started recruiting him. He committed a month later.
It has been an ideal match.
Not much has gone well for the Ospreys this year — they are 7-24 entering their Atlantic Sun Conference tournament first-round game against West Georgia on Wednesday, March 4 (7:30 p.m. at Jacksonville University). Oriol has been UNF’s bright spot.
Oriol finished the regular season averaging 35.5 minutes (most in the league), 20.5 points (third) and 4.3 assists (fourth).
“God gave me a big chance to take over this year,” Oriol said.
Barring a miracle four-win run, Oriol’s college career will end this week, but with many memories of his journey from high school in St. Petersburg.
Florida to California to Florida
Oriol’s chance to play college basketball developed because he played a future coach in open gym. No, really.
Oriol played at Admiral Farragut Academy when he was discovered by Troy Leaf, who had recently left coaching.
A former assistant coach at The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, Calif., Leaf and his wife had relocated to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.
Leaf joined the local basketball scene to scratch a competitive itch when he met Oriol. Leaf had an initial and instant thought.
“This kid is good.”
Oriol found minimal interest. He considered prep school, junior college and small four-year schools in Florida. Playing Division 2 basketball was an option until multiple programs wanted him to redshirt. That was a non-starter for Oriol.
But then a needed break. Leaf’s boss at Master’s, Kelvin Starr, called to ask if he wanted back in the coaching business. Leaf accepted and immediately mentioned Oriol.
“I told him, ‘There’s a kid (in Florida) who’s going to be really, really good and he has absolutely nothing (offer-wise),’” Leaf said in a phone interview from California, where he is the associate head coach at Master’s. “I knew Kam had some tools scoring the basketball that not a lot of kids had, just an innate ability to score and that’s something you can’t always teach.”
Oriol joined Master’s and started working with Leaf.
“There just weren’t a lot of people who saw what the end result could be for Kam if he could be in the right system and right situation,” Leaf said. “I saw somebody who doesn’t stop working, loves the game and is an awesome human being. You couldn’t really lose with a kid like that.”
The development plan created by Starr and Leaf and presented to Oriol was give Master’s a shot for two years. Like it? Stay for all four years. Want to get back to Florida? The coaches would help you find a new home.
What impressed Leaf is how Oriol didn’t let his goal of playing at a higher level impact his approach.
“You have a lot of kids who play small-college basketball and their frame (of mind) is, ‘I have to get stats so I can get out,’” Leaf said. “Kam’s thought process was completely different. He never wavered in his belief in us.”
Oriol averaged 10.4 points and 15.3 points per game during his two seasons at Master’s.
“It was a lot of fun and it helped me grow as a man being away from home,” he said.
The time, though, was for Oriol to return to his home state. He ran into the same issue as two years earlier — getting discovered.
Before UNF called, Oriol said his final two options were Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and Florida Southern in Lakeland.
Oriol wanted to stay in California to watch his teammates’ graduation ceremony before returning to Florida to take visits. He was offered by UNF, followed a day later by Florida A&M. He committed to UNF on May 13, 2024.
“They really believed in me,” Oriol said of the UNF staff.
Shooting guard to point guard
Oriol averaged 20.8 minutes and 7.3 points as a reserve for UNF in 2024-25 and he was thrown two significant curveballs well before his senior year even started. Matthew Driscoll resigned to become an assistant coach at Kansas State (he is now the Wildcats’ interim coach) and was replaced by Kennan, and incoming freshman point guard Mason Watkins missed the entire season with a wrist injury.
Oriol had to assume the point guard spot. Instead of generally looking for his shot, he now had to look for his shot and be mindful of facilitating his teammates.
“It was definitely a change, being more in control of the game and being a leader,” Oriol said. “I do like the responsibility to have the ball in my hands and get guys involved.”
Kennan saw Oriol’s potential to play point guard last year.
“We were down a point guard in practice and he played it and was really, really good at it and comfortable with the ball in his hands,” Kennen said. “I called him in at the beginning of this year even before we had the injury (to Watkins) and told him we would need him to play there some and be a combo guy. Turns out, he’s had to be ‘The Guy.’ It will help him as a professional down the road just being more versatile.”
Kennan and Leaf both believe Oriol can carve out a professional career because of his 3-point shooting ability, want-to level and versatility.
Not bad for a player who didn’t know if a Division I opportunity would ever materialize.
“All of the work you put in from a young age — practicing before school, working out after school — and the goal was to play Division I basketball,” Oriol said. “To start off at NAIA and make it here, it’s been a blessing.”
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How social media helped UNF find its basketball star in Kamril Oriol
Reporting by Ryan O’Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
