All Things Daniel Oturu Recruiting Thread UPDATED: OTURU A GOPHER!

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If Tre signs with the Gophers does Oteru win college recruiter of the year?
 

per Jace:

Something about Gophers home basketball games last season stood out to Jarvis Thomas.

When Michael Hurt, a freshman forward from Rochester, would check in at the scorer’s table, Thomas recalled, “The crowd would just erupt.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Thomas said. “People, they love the in-state kids.”

They’ll be getting a few more of them soon. Moments after DeLaSalle guard Gabe Kalscheur announced his commitment to the University of Minnesota this week, he threw his arms around Daniel Oturu and Thomas — fellow Gophers commits from the Class of 2018 — and posed for pictures.

“They’ve done a great job in terms of identifying these kids when they were younger and making them a priority, and the fruits of their labor have paid off,” said Paul Biancardi, ESPN’s national director of recruiting. “Now, with this class, it shows that they’ve made in-roads in the state, and that’s so important, because there’s some really good talent in the state of Minnesota.”

“I feel like the coaching staff is recruiting in-state kids now, where past coaching staffs, I don’t know how much they really recruited in state, those types of kids,” said Apple Valley point guard Tre Jones, likely the Gophers’ top 2018 target. “I feel like the prospects in Minnesota have proven in the past what they can do in the college level, and so the coaching staff here sees that and are going after in-state kids.”

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http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/2...rs-basketball-team-secures-states-top-talent/

Go Gophers!!
 


STrib: Gophers commit Daniel Oturu talks meeting Kobe and Nike Academy experience

In a Q&A with the Star Tribune, Oturu talked about his experience during the five days at the Nike camp, which included meeting his favorite player Kobe Bryant and learning post skills from Rasheed Wallace.

Q: What did you think about being with Kobe, LeBron James and Kevin Durant last week?

A: That was pretty cool. But the highlight was meeting Kobe. Definitely him. We all spent more time with Kobe than LeBron and KD. He talked to us about how to build your brand, staying focused on your goals. He gave us many examples that were really cool. First time I met him. He’s a serious person about what he wants to do. I don’t really meet a lot of people who are as serious as him. He’s very dynamic. He’s very serious about what we wants to do, even if it’s not basketball related. You can tell that he’s a competitive person. I’ve always been a Kobe fan. I think Kobe is the greatest player of all-time.

Q: You think Kobe is even better than Michael Jordan? Did you tell him that?

A: I do. Yeah I told him. He just said, “Thank you.”

Q: When did you see fellow Minnesotans Tre Jones and Amir Coffey at the camp?

A: We saw each other every day. We weren’t on the same team, but we still had good conversations with each other and had lunch. We were all together with college and high school guys, so it was pretty cool.

Q: Did you get to talk to Coffey about playing with the Gophers in the future?

A: Yeah. Amir and I, our relationship was able to get a lot better. We’ve always been good friends, but I felt like it’s even better now. He’s excited I’m coming. He’s said just get ready to work. I asked him I hope he’s still there by the time I get there (in 2018-19). He said he doesn’t know (laughs).

Q: Were you able to watch Coffey play against the rest of the college participants?

A: When we weren’t playing I got to watch. He’s gotten a lot better. I feel like he is going to kill this season. I’m excited to watch him.

Q: What was it like working with some of the former NBA players?

A: It was probably the best basketball experience I’ve had in a while. Just learning from players like Rasheed Wallace, Gary Payton and Ron Harper, guys who have done it before. They know what it takes to get to that level. It was just good to learn from them.

Q: What did you learn from Rasheed Wallace as a big man?

A: It was great learning from him, because we’re almost like the same (size). He’s one of the best big men to play. It was great learning from someone like him. Working with him on my jump shot all week really helped open up my game a lot more. He taught me a lot of new post moves and stuff to get defenders off me. He showed me moves to get defenders off me and more clean shots and open shots.

Q: You were on Ron Harper’s team. What was that experience like?

A: He really likes my game. He said I do a lot of good stuff on the court, and he told me things that I need to work on. He kept it real with me. He said he likes that I never take a play off, that I hustle and I like to rebound a lot.

Q: What will you take from that whole Nike experience that you can bring back for your senior season?

A: What I got is being able to play well against the best players in the country. Coming back to Minnesota, no disrespect, but the talent level (overall) isn’t like the EYBL. There you’re playing against guys who will be in the NBA a year from now. Playing against that high talent level makes it easier to come back and dominate.

http://www.startribune.com/oturu-goes-to-camp/441530293/

Go Gophers!!
 



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BleedGopher said:
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Gonna be a great day for the program! (top 30? Marcus, you don't gotta lie tuh kick it)
 

per Chad:

Playing together on an offseason AAU basketball team, Daniel Oturu, Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Thomas spent many long nights talking about what the next four years could hold for them.

They envisioned Oturu dominating the block, Kalscheur shooting 3s and Thomas using his athleticism to pull down rebounds. All for their hometown Gophers.

On Wednesday, the three Minnesotans take a giant step closer to becoming college teammates, with each planning to sign a letter of intent to play for the Gophers men’s basketball team in what will be the U’s biggest single haul of local talent since Royce White headlined three Minnesotans who did the same in 2009.

All three long ago gave oral commitments to the Gophers, and can sign officially with the program Wednesday, the first day the NCAA allows non-football and soccer players to sign letters of intent for the Class of 2018.

“We are all coming together for the same goal — to put on for our state,” said Oturu, a 6-foot-10 center who plays for Cretin-Derham Hall. “You don’t have to leave to be successful. We want to build our own legacy at the U and continue that with the younger generation too. Hopefully, more kids will stay home too and play for the Gophers. We want to start a trend.”

http://www.twincities.com/2017/11/0...recruits-hope-this-is-start-of-something-big/

Go Gophers!!
 

Oturu is signing at 3:30?

That answers the "When's the Press Release coming?" question.

3:40 PM - about 10 minutes after the LOI is signed.
 



Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Oturu is signing at 3:30?

That answers the "When's the Press Release coming?" question.

3:40 PM - about 10 minutes after the LOI is signed.
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Anyone know if he signed? One of the services shows he did, but have seen nothing official.
 

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Go Gophers!!
 


per Marcus:

PITINO ON 2018 RECRUITS

For the first time Thursday, Pitino was able to speak publicly about two members of his 2018 recruiting class, Cretin-Derham Hall’s Daniel Oturu and Orono’s Jarvis Thomas Omersa, who signed Wednesday at the start of the early signing period. Pitino couldn’t talk yet about shooting guard Gabe Kalscheur, who will sign 3:30 p.m. Friday at DeLaSalle.

“Both guys I’m extremely excited about,” Pitino said. “We feel like we’ve had back-to-back-to-back really good recruiting classes. And that’s how you turn a program around.”

Pitino raved about the potential of Oturu, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound four-star prospect from Woodbury, Minn. gives the Gophers their third straight top-50 recruit, joining Isaiah Washington in 2017 and Amir Coffey in 2016.

“Daniel I believe is one of the best big guys in the country,” Pitino said. “Some have him ranked top 5 centers in the country. I think he’s talented. I think he’s going to come in and help right away. Bright days ahead for him.”

Omersa, who changed his last name from Thomas last month, is a 6-foot-8, 225-pound freakishly athletic forward who can play multiple positions, Pitino said.

“He’s one of the best athletes that we’ve brought in since we’ve been here,” Pitino said. “He plays extremely hard. Very, very tough. Both guys I expect to be really good players. We always talk about closing down the borders. We’re certainly doing that.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...467223/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Go Gophers!!
 



per Shooter:

Reigning Big Ten men’s basketball coach of the year Richard Pitino of the Gophers projects that Cretin-Derham Hall senior center Daniel Oturo, who has signed with Minnesota, will play right away as a freshman. Oturo, 6-10, has put on 10 pounds since last season and is up to 225. He is expected to play at 235 at Minnesota.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/11/1...ed-with-greg-olsens-impending-fox-appearance/

Go Gophers!!
 


BleedGopher said:
per Shooter:

Reigning Big Ten men’s basketball coach of the year Richard Pitino of the Gophers projects that Cretin-Derham Hall senior center Daniel Oturo, who has signed with Minnesota, will play right away as a freshman. Oturo, 6-10, has put on 10 pounds since last season and is up to 225. He is expected to play at 235 at Minnesota.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/11/1...ed-with-greg-olsens-impending-fox-appearance/

Go Gophers!!
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You'd think the press would get Oturu's name right!
 

CDH #25 in the USA today HS top 25 poll. Apple Valley unranked.

http://usatodayhss.com/2017/super-25-preseason-boys-basketball-no-25-cretin-derham-hall

The Raiders return five starters, led by Minnesota signee Daniel Oturu (20.8 ppg, 16.9 rpg), a 6-10 center.

Cretin-Derham Hall will have plenty of bulk and size with 6-8 senior PF Sy Chatman (12.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg), junior SF Jaeden King (10.9 ppg), an Augustana commit, and 6-6 senior PF Jacob Prince (10.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who played tight end on the Raiders’ football team.

Senior PG Ryan Larson (13.3 ppg) led the state with 8.7 assists a game last season.


They certainly do have a lot of talent with Oturu, Chatmann and Larson. Looks like all 5 starters averaged double figures last year.
 

Hard for me to grasp why CDH is ranked ahead of Apple Valley...but what do I know. Could be a fun state title game!

I'll never pick against Tre Jones. Kid just gets it. Unreal talent and worker. Literally did everything for his team last year. One of the most impressive state tournaments I have ever seen.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Hard for me to grasp why CDH is ranked ahead of Apple Valley...but what do I know. Could be a fun state title game!

I'll never pick against Tre Jones. Kid just gets it. Unreal talent and worker. Literally did everything for his team last year. One of the most impressive state tournaments I have ever seen.
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Well Sy Chatman at CDH has D1 offers from Sienna and Bryant and Ryan Larson was a solid 6th man on one of the best EYBL teams in the country not to mention two other double digit scorers returning in the starting lineup. They have great size in their front court with 6-10 center , 6-8 PF and 6-6 SF. Thats a D1 sized.

AV has a Winona State basketball commit in Luke Martens returning but they lose their third leading scorer.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
Hard for me to grasp why CDH is ranked ahead of Apple Valley...but what do I know. Could be a fun state title game!

I'll never pick against Tre Jones. Kid just gets it. Unreal talent and worker. Literally did everything for his team last year. One of the most impressive state tournaments I have ever seen.
Click to expand...

Tre, who?
 

I'd take Apple Valley over CDH any day. Tre is on a different level.
 


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Go Gophers!!
 

We are at the Break Down Tip-Off Classic and Oturu went down with what looks like a potentially bad injury. After swatting a Joe Hedstrom shot he went down and was down for a few minutes. He was helped off and put no weight on his leg. Jarvis Omersa, who happened to be standing as a spectator on the baseline the injury happened, came right over to console him.

Prior to the injury, Oturu was dominating.
 

Oturu is on the end of the bench, it does not look like he will play again tonight.
 


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