Daniel Oturu was a relative unknown entering his sophomore season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He played well in his freshman season and showed glimpses of greatness, but by no means was he expected to carry the load and be one of the best players in the Big Ten this year.
Daniel Oturu 2020 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Oturu is a 6’10 center from Minnesota who chose to stay home and help his state school. He was solid throughout his freshman season, competing with talented forwards. Undoubtedly, he made the jump his sophomore season and was dominant. Oturu averaged 15.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for his career. However, just in his sophomore season, Oturu notched 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Those are big-time numbers for a guy that is not a dominant offensive player.
Oturu was named a member of the All-Big Ten team, with the likes of Jalen Smith and Luka Garza. Additionally, he was named a member of the All-Big Ten Defensive team. It is tough for Oturu to garner a ton of attention with other high-level bigs in this conference, but he did well enough to do so.
Strengths
The first thing to think about with Oturu is his rebounding. He is an excellent rebounder pulling down at least nine rebounds per game each season. Oturu’s length puts him in positions for rebounds but his motor finishes the possession. Specifically, Oturu is a great offensive rebounder. He averaged 3.7 offensive boards per game, which equates to about 15 percent of his team’s misses. That is something that will earn him a lot of playing time at the next level.
The next major aspect of Oturu’s game is shot-blocking. He was a constant presence in the lane, averaging about two blocks per game. Again, Oturu’s length helps him here and allows him to at the very least alter shots. In reality, he is an even better shot blocker than the numbers show because he alters so many shots.
Oturu is agile for his size. He has quick feet and has shown some ability to use it offensively. Additionally, he demonstrated some ability to shoot this year. He averaged about two three-point attempts per game and shot 37 percent.
Weaknesses
One of the major concerns with Oturu is he is turnover prone. For his career, Oturu averaged 2.8 turnovers a game which means he turned the ball over nearly 15 percent of his possessions. For a guard, these numbers are not too concerning, but for a big who does not possess the ball much or for extended periods this is not great.
To go along with the turnovers, Oturu is not a great playmaker. Centers are not the greatest playmakers. However, it is becoming increasingly important for them to make plays or at least handle situations if they are not scoring. Oturu can definitely do better.
All-in-all, Oturu is very much a work in progress offensively. That is not at all a weakness, however, it just shows that offensively, Oturu is not a ready-made product. Most of his weaknesses are directly related to him lacking experience offensively.
NBA Player Comparison
Clint Capela. Daniel Oturu will have an instant impact on the defensive end. He can run the floor, rebound, protect the rim, and excel in the pick-and-roll. If he does not improve offensively at all, he will still have a chance to be an impact player.
NBA Draft Projection
Late lottery.
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