Future Gopher Daniel Oturu Carrying Cretin-Derham Hall to Great Heights

Written By Samuel Johnson (Cretin-Derham Hall)

Daniel Oturu ducks his head through the doorway and sits in a desk that he makes look like a Little Tikes toy.

He makes the classroom and his classmates seem as if they belong in a middle school.

These effects come with the towering height that has become Oturu’s defining characteristic.

“Only problem with being tall is buying shoes and clothes,” said the 6-foot-10 center.

Oturu looms large as a formidable leader on the court and a lively presence in the classroom. He isn’t hard to spot when walking down the hallway. Oturu is grateful for his gift of height and uses it to be a force in the low post. The University of Minnesota commit has the confidence and talent of being arguably the most unguardable player in all of Minnesota high school basketball.

“Every time I’m on the court I know I’m the best player,” he said. “That might sound cocky, but I am really confident in myself.”

Oturu is the main reason the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders are ranked No. 1 in the state.

That confidence showed itself in last Saturday’s win against the DeLaSalle Islanders. Unfazed by the sold out crowd that included current Gophers Nate Mason, Isaiah Washington and Dupree McBrayer, Oturu dropped 25 points and cleaned up 15 rebounds.

Oturu is the main reason the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders are ranked No. 1 in the state and have won their last 16 games. He excels on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the state in rebounds shooting a ridiculous 70 percent from the field. Oturu and 6-foot-8 power forward Sy Chatman are both imposing figures in the paint, which causes matchup problems for any team that comes to the Joe Mauer Field House.

Teams will often start out in a zone, only to watch Oturu find open space and make jumpers. Then they’ll call a timeout, switch to man defense and watch him bully defenders on the inside.

Off the court, Oturu walks the halls with an extremely relaxed demeanor. His sense of humor translates to great chemistry in the locker room. He fits the title “gentle giant” like a glove.

At home, Daniel hangs out and plays NBA 2K around his biggest fans — Mom and Dad.

“My parents have been inspirations for all my life,” he said. “I just want to make them proud. They’ve always just believed in my dreams. They always push me to be the best I can at anything.”

The confidence that his parents instill in him allows him to make comments like the following: “I do everything. Point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward.”

It doesn’t look like head coach Jerry Klein is going to let Oturu bring up the ball any time soon, but Oturu’s fun, energetic personality translates into the Raiders’ game.

CDH puts on a show with monster blocks, fast-paced offense and ferocious dunks, often drawing sellout crowds.

Normal two-handed dunks barely elicit a response from the crowd.

“When we were playing Mounds View, we were playing so dominant that it reminded me of the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, so I just kind of dubbed us the ‘Showtime Raiders,’” Oturu said.

The Raiders fit the self-proclaimed nickname and style perfectly.

Two weeks ago in East Ridge, small forward Jacob Prince had a wide open dunk on a fast break, but instead he stopped and waited to throw an alley-oop to Oturu.

Normal two-handed dunks barely elicit a response from the crowd. The future Big Ten star says that he’s working on his dunk package, and the Raiders fan base should be excited for future games.

But Oturu isn’t just worried about dunks. He has shown considerable improvement in his shot and his ball-handling from junior to senior year. He has also used his size to take his game to the next level.

His height has carried Oturu so far, and he’s hoping to use it to bring the Raiders a state championship.

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