Signee Spotlight: Daniel Oturu

Daniel Oturu committed to Minnesota in January over offers from Baylor, Creighton, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Kansas, Memphis, Nebraska, and Providence. The early commitment helped pave the way for commitments from his Howard Pulley teammates Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa.

From August 2016: "The Gophers have always been one of my favorite teams to watch, no matter if they win or lose. I would say that I’ve been a Gopher fan for a long time."

From January: "I feel like it is the place I am most comfortable at and where I can strive to become the best player I can be...Just having the opportunity to play for my home state and having the pride of having the name of Minnesota across my chest.

"Minnesota is my home state, my home state school. I felt really loved by the coaches there, the community. Just having the opportunity to play in front of the people that watched me growing up, my family, and my friends, means the world to me.

"I felt like I was the top guy that they really wanted to come to their school, so that played a role in it. Just having the pride to play for your state means a lot to me.

"I think I'm really close (to being able to play in the Big Ten). I think I can play there right now, not to be cocky or nothing. I just feel like I need to work more on my perimeter game, just to consistently hit more jump shots and threes. And get my ball handling straight so I can be able to push the ball if a guard is not able to come to the ball, or so I can control the offense with my game."

July 2017: Daniel Oturu once again played bigger than his 6-foot-10 frame by finishing strong around the rim and pulling off several double doubles.

July 2017: Oturu continues to impress against top competition, and he showcased that in the tweet below where he bullied number one prospect Marvin Bagley before throwing down a slam. Huge piece for Minnesota going forward.

May 2017: Oturu is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder. He's good at facing up and attacking from close in and has a developing back-to-the-basket game on the block. He's long, gets good lift, and is a great defender. Fouls are down from last year, which is a major plus. His jumper is a work in progress.

May 2017: Four-star big man Daniel Oturu showed much improved physicality and has the look of a guy who could eventually be an All-Conference type defender on the interior at Minnesota.

May 2017: The 6-foot-10 junior certainly looks the part getting off the bus. He is lengthy, hard-nosed, and relishes defense and rebounding.

Oturu is averaging a double-double through eight games and is scoring 10.8 points per game. Over the first two weekends, he is 32 for 55 from the field, for a 58.2 percent average. In Indianapolis, he had scoring outings of 18, 16, 4, and 11, and made 19 shots on just 28 attempts.

We saw him Saturday, where he definitely revealed an upside. He displayed several nice drop steps, and showed the ability to score with his back to the bucket. He doesn’t have a wide array of moves, but he is coming along with the drop step over either shoulder.

He is also the beneficiary of

Tre Jones. So far, no point guards in the country have been able to keep him in front of them. His penetration is drawing the defensive big, which allows him to hit Oturu for the finish. To his credit, the post from Woodbury is showing good hands in executing the catch and score.

Oturu’s inexperience shows at times when he has the ball. He is still working on his timing where his feet and hands are in constant coordination. But that is common, and usually improves as a player gets older. He also doesn’t create space for his shot consistently. But his offense is improving, and when one combines that with his body and his defensive skills, he is certainly a player that Minnesota fans can get excited about.

The key factor that makes Oturu worthy of his No. 75 ranking by Rivals in the class of 2018 is his frame. At only 212 pounds, one can’t picture him presently in a college uniform. But in three or four years with a lot of commitment in a college strength and conditioning program, it's not unreasonable to think he'll weigh 240 pounds.

He is already a force on the boards despite giving up weight in many matchups. He is averaging 10.2 rebounds per game in the EYBL. He has five straight games of double-digit rebounds, and had individual efforts last weekend where he gathered 10, 14, 15, and 11, good for three double-doubles in four outings.

January 2017: 6'9"+ bigs that run the floor well are hard to come by, but Daniel Oturu is one of them. Oturu's long arms (his wingspan is 7'2"+), above average bounce, and light feet for his size give him excellent upside and make him an effective player near the basket. He was Howard Pulley's best rebounder last summer and is especially adept at grabbing offensive boards because of his mobility and quickness. He was one of the best offensive rebounding 2018s on the EYBL circuit.

His physical tools combined with an above average instinct for timing his blocks makes him a great shot blocker, as well. However, he did struggle with foul trouble for Howard Pulley, but that's not abnormal for a big playing up an age.His numbers weren't huge for Pulley because they don't really play through their bigs much at all. There would be games I'd watch where Theo and Oturu didn't get a touch with their back to the basket a single time. Theo and Daniel's points came off putbacks and rebounds, dumpoffs, and transition scores. Oturu has decent touch and it should continue to improve. Even if he doesn't receive a lot of touches next season for Howard Pulley, I think he'll crack into a double digit scoring average.Where does he need to improve? His perimeter skills and jumper need work. Against top competition, he doesn't put the ball on the floor much and improving his handle will help him be more effective attacking the basket. His jumper has improved but can still get significantly better. He's comfortable taking jumpers about to the free throw line, but "mid-range jump shooter" is not something I'd label him right now. His free throw shooting could also improve. He was 59/99 (59.6%) at Cretin last season and 6/21 (28.6%) in EYBL. This season his free throw numbers have showed progress: 44/67 (65.7%).He's a hard worker and active on both ends of the floor. Off the floor, I've got the impression that he's pretty quiet and reserved.What will his impact be at Minnesota? I'm guessing a transfer or maybe JUCO will be added, but if not, Oturu will have the opportunity to start from day one. He'll need to add weight to avoid staying out of foul trouble as a freshman, but he'll be able to provide value through his shot blocking, rebounding, some scores down low, and transition offense and defense. His upside is big and I think he'll have an excellent four-year career at Minnesota.

January 2017: A 6-foot-9 center that is mobile in getting up and down the floor but is even more of an asset as a producer on the glass and as a shot blocker, Oturu should be able to contribute straight out of the gates in two years.

Upon the proper progressions, not only will the Cretin-Derham Hall product be able to make a name for himself on the boards, but he also can become a low-post asset that can score with his back to the basket.