Daniel Oturu

Akinfayoshe Daniel Oturu (born September 20, 1999) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Daniel Oturu
Oturu with Minnesota in 2019
No. 10 – Los Angeles Clippers
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-09-20) September 20, 1999
Brooklyn, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolCretin-Derham Hall
(Saint Paul, Minnesota)
CollegeMinnesota (2018–2020)
NBA draft2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33rd overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentLos Angeles Clippers
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Oturu played basketball for Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota for four years. He grew from 6'6 as a freshman to 6'9 as a junior and developed good hand-eye coordination and navigation on the court.[1] As a senior, he averaged 18.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.1 blocks per game and became his school's all-time leader in each of the three categories.[2] In his final season, Oturu led his team to a Class 4A state championship over Apple Valley High School, scoring a game-winning dunk with 0.5 seconds left in regulation. Despite his strong play, he was excluded from the all-tournament team for sportsmanship reasons, as he had received a technical foul for shoving opposing player, Tre Jones, in the first half.[3] Oturu was invited to play for the World Select team, representing his parents' home country of Nigeria, at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon.[4] He was considered a four-star recruit and committed to play college basketball for Minnesota over offers from Kansas, among others.[5]

College career

Oturu had shoulder surgery prior to his freshman season.[1] On December 24, 2018, Oturu was named Big Ten freshman of the week after scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in a 86–67 win over North Carolina A&T.[6] He tied his season-high of 20 points in a 68–64 loss to Rutgers on February 24, 2019.[7] Despite Oturu's strong play, he was not named in the Big Ten Freshman Team, which he cited as motivation.[8] Oturu averaged 10.8 points per game and led Big Ten freshman in rebounding with 7.0 per game, blocked shots with 46, and field goal percentage with 55 percent. In the offseason, Oturu worked on bulking up to help replace the loss of Jordan Murphy.[9] During his sophomore season he was named Big Ten player of the week on December 30, after posting 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in an 89–62 win against Florida International, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor.[10] On January 12, 2020, Oturu scored a career-high 30 points in a 75–67 upset of Michigan despite playing with a shoulder injury.[11] He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on January 13.[12] At the close of the regular season, Oturu was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media and to the All-Defensive Team.[13]

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2020–present)

Oturu was selected with the 33rd pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first University of Minnesota player to be drafted since Kris Humphries in 2004.[14] Oturu was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.[15] On November 28, 2020, the Los Angeles Clippers announced that they had signed with Oturu.[16]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Minnesota 353123.8.551.500.6157.0.5.51.310.8
2019–20 Minnesota 313133.9.563.365.70711.31.1.52.520.1
Career 666228.5.558.370.6719.0.8.51.815.2

Personal life

Both of Oturu's parents are natives of Nigeria. His mother, Deborah, is from Ife and his father, Francis, is from Fadeyi, a suburb of Lagos.[17] Francis played table tennis for the Nigerian national team and moved to the United States because of his table tennis career. Oturu has an older sister, Eunice.[1]

Oturu was given his middle name, Daniel, by his mother, who viewed it as a strong biblical name. His first name, Akinfayoshe, combines the Yoruba words "Akin" (hero) and "fayoshe" (joy and happiness).[17]

Oturu comes from a Christian family. Both of his parents are ministers at a branch of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[17] His favorite NBA player is Kobe Bryant, and he cites Joel Embiid as a role model.[1]

References
  1. Greder, Andy (February 4, 2019). "Gophers: Before basketball in Woodbury, Oturus were playing ping pong in Nigeria". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  2. Mizutani, Dane (March 20, 2018). "CDH's Daniel Oturu shines on and off court". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  3. Rand, Michael (March 26, 2018). "'Sportsmanship' kept dominant Oturu off boys' basketball all-tournament team". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  4. Fuller, Marcus (April 3, 2018). "Gophers recruit Daniel Oturu makes Nike Summit World Select team". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. Owen, Dan (January 19, 2017). "2018 PF Daniel Oturu Commits to Gophers". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. Fuller, Marcus (December 24, 2019). "Gophers center Daniel Oturu named Big Ten freshman of the week". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  7. "Mathis scores 18 to help Rutgers beat Minnesota 68–64". ESPN. Associated Press. February 24, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. Fuller, Marcus (March 12, 2019). "Gophers' Daniel Oturu motivated by not making All-Big Ten freshman team". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. Fuller, Marcus (September 25, 2019). "Richard Pitino wants bigger Oturu to be more physical, shoot some threes". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  10. "Illinois and Minnesota Claim Weekly Men's Basketball Honors". Big Ten Conference. December 30, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. "Oturu scores 30 as Minnesota beats No. 19 Michigan 75–67". ESPN. Associated Press. January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  12. "Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue Claim Weekly Men's Basketball Honors". Big Ten Conference. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  13. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  14. Fuller, Marcus (November 19, 2020). "State of hoops: Modern record four Minnesotans taken in draft". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  15. "LA Clippers Acquire Draft Rights to Daniel Oturu". nba.com. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  16. "LA Clippers Sign Daniel Oturu". nba.com. November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  17. Fuller, Marcus (November 3, 2019). "For Gophers basketball player Daniel Oturu, home is where the heart is". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.