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Q&A: Gophers Big Man Commit Daniel Oturu Talks Gophers, Junior Season and More
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/765330?referrer_id=
Daniel Oturu, a 6-foot-9 junior center from St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham Hall, committed to Minnesota last month, picking the Gophers over from Kansas, Nebraska, Baylor, Georgia Tech and Memphis.
Oturu is one of the top big men in the Midwest in the Class of 2018 and is considered the number two prospect from Minnesota in the class. Oturu received a scholarship offer from Minnesota last summer.
Oturu is averaging 19.6 points, 16.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 6.5 blocked shots per game for the Raiders, who are off to a 16-8 start. He scored in double figures in all but one games with 11 games of 20 or more points, including a season-best 33 points versus Woodbury. Oturu has grabbed double figure rebounds in every game but two with four games of 20 or more rebounds, including a season-high 26 versus St. Paul Central.
Gopher Hole caught up with Oturu after he helped lead Cretin to a victory over Iowa City West at the Community Clash to learn the latest on his junior season.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota about a month ago. What is the feeling now that it has been a month since you have committed?
Daniel Oturu: It feels good knowing that I know where I am going for college. It relieved a lot of pressure and now I can just focus on playing.
Gopher Hole: The Gophers went through a little bit of a tough streak where they lost a few close games. They seemed to have learned from that and are playing really well right now. How pleased are you with the way that they have been playing the last couple of weeks?
Daniel Oturu: They have been playing really well. I am really happy to see my future team playing good. It is just a good atmosphere over there. They just want to win and make it to the tournament and that is the same goal that I have when I get there.
Gopher Hole: Jordan Murphy has been playing a lot better recently. Is that the guys that you watch like Murphy and Reggie Lynch, especially since they are big guys?
Daniel Oturu: Yes. I watch how physical they are. Attacking the rebounds. Getting to the offensive glass. . They have been playing really good, so it is good to see that.
Gopher Hole: How about your game today? You had a good games playing against one of the best teams in Iowa (29 point and 15 rebounds) and handled them pretty easily. How pleased are you with how well you guys played today?
Daniel Oturu: We played great. Great defense. They had really good players, Conner McCaffery. We put our best defensive player, Jacob Prince, on him and he did his best and I think that he did a really good job guarding him and we also played really good team defense and eliminated them from shooting threes, so that was good.
Gopher Hole: You had a lot of points and rebounds, but didn't have as much blocks as you usually do, but it seemed like they were very aware of where you were and rather than shoot the ball inside, they three it outside. Is that something that you take pride in knowing that even if you don't block the shot that you are making them work a lot harder to score?
Daniel Oturu: Yes. Just knowing that I am an impact on the interior. I'm there to block shots, change shots. It helps my team, so it is good that I have that ability.
Gopher Hole: Every time I see you, you seem a little bit bigger.
Daniel Oturu: That is what everybody says to me. I don't really know.
Gopher Hole: You actually got a haircut, so you are not quite as tall actually. When did you do that?
Daniel Oturu: I got a haircut, I want to say, two or three weeks ago.
Gopher Hole: Any reason?
Daniel Oturu: My school made me.
Gopher Hole: You are playing well right now. How much do you think that a game like this against a really good team is going to help you, not only the rest of the year, but to get ready for the playoffs?
Daniel Oturu: It helps a lot. Playing these tough teams from out of state and just any big game in the regular season helps, especially the playoff atmosphere because everything changes in the playoffs. A lot more people. Playing in these type of games just helps us have more experience.
Gopher Hole: You are in a tough section. What is it going to take to get to the state tournament?
Daniel Oturu: It is going to take a lot of pride and defense. You have to be able to stop the other teams and use our defense to lead to offense, because defense leads to scoring, so we have to play with a tough defense in the playoffs.
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/765330?referrer_id=
Daniel Oturu, a 6-foot-9 junior center from St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham Hall, committed to Minnesota last month, picking the Gophers over from Kansas, Nebraska, Baylor, Georgia Tech and Memphis.
Oturu is one of the top big men in the Midwest in the Class of 2018 and is considered the number two prospect from Minnesota in the class. Oturu received a scholarship offer from Minnesota last summer.
Oturu is averaging 19.6 points, 16.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 6.5 blocked shots per game for the Raiders, who are off to a 16-8 start. He scored in double figures in all but one games with 11 games of 20 or more points, including a season-best 33 points versus Woodbury. Oturu has grabbed double figure rebounds in every game but two with four games of 20 or more rebounds, including a season-high 26 versus St. Paul Central.
Gopher Hole caught up with Oturu after he helped lead Cretin to a victory over Iowa City West at the Community Clash to learn the latest on his junior season.
Gopher Hole: You committed to Minnesota about a month ago. What is the feeling now that it has been a month since you have committed?
Daniel Oturu: It feels good knowing that I know where I am going for college. It relieved a lot of pressure and now I can just focus on playing.
Gopher Hole: The Gophers went through a little bit of a tough streak where they lost a few close games. They seemed to have learned from that and are playing really well right now. How pleased are you with the way that they have been playing the last couple of weeks?
Daniel Oturu: They have been playing really well. I am really happy to see my future team playing good. It is just a good atmosphere over there. They just want to win and make it to the tournament and that is the same goal that I have when I get there.
Gopher Hole: Jordan Murphy has been playing a lot better recently. Is that the guys that you watch like Murphy and Reggie Lynch, especially since they are big guys?
Daniel Oturu: Yes. I watch how physical they are. Attacking the rebounds. Getting to the offensive glass. . They have been playing really good, so it is good to see that.
Gopher Hole: How about your game today? You had a good games playing against one of the best teams in Iowa (29 point and 15 rebounds) and handled them pretty easily. How pleased are you with how well you guys played today?
Daniel Oturu: We played great. Great defense. They had really good players, Conner McCaffery. We put our best defensive player, Jacob Prince, on him and he did his best and I think that he did a really good job guarding him and we also played really good team defense and eliminated them from shooting threes, so that was good.
Gopher Hole: You had a lot of points and rebounds, but didn't have as much blocks as you usually do, but it seemed like they were very aware of where you were and rather than shoot the ball inside, they three it outside. Is that something that you take pride in knowing that even if you don't block the shot that you are making them work a lot harder to score?
Daniel Oturu: Yes. Just knowing that I am an impact on the interior. I'm there to block shots, change shots. It helps my team, so it is good that I have that ability.
Gopher Hole: Every time I see you, you seem a little bit bigger.
Daniel Oturu: That is what everybody says to me. I don't really know.
Gopher Hole: You actually got a haircut, so you are not quite as tall actually. When did you do that?
Daniel Oturu: I got a haircut, I want to say, two or three weeks ago.
Gopher Hole: Any reason?
Daniel Oturu: My school made me.
Gopher Hole: You are playing well right now. How much do you think that a game like this against a really good team is going to help you, not only the rest of the year, but to get ready for the playoffs?
Daniel Oturu: It helps a lot. Playing these tough teams from out of state and just any big game in the regular season helps, especially the playoff atmosphere because everything changes in the playoffs. A lot more people. Playing in these type of games just helps us have more experience.
Gopher Hole: You are in a tough section. What is it going to take to get to the state tournament?
Daniel Oturu: It is going to take a lot of pride and defense. You have to be able to stop the other teams and use our defense to lead to offense, because defense leads to scoring, so we have to play with a tough defense in the playoffs.