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Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Oturu's Day in Perspective
12/29/2019 3:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
by Matt Little, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Saturday night was a memorable one for Gophers sophomore Daniel Oturu as he celebrated the new year a little early. Oturu posted the first Minnesota 20-20 double-double performance since Tom Kondla had 33 points and 23 rebounds at Kansas State on Dec. 1, 1966. His final statline read 21 points, 20 rebounds, and 8-12 from the field in just 32 minutes.
To add some context to how long it's been since a Gopher player managed this feat, here are some fun facts surrounding that time. The President of the United States was Lyndon B. Johnson, "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys was a top 10 song in the U.S.A, and Wilt Chamberlain was the reigning MVP in the NBA. The NHL only had 12 teams, and there hadn't even been a Super Bowl yet. In other words, it's been a long, long time.
Saturday marked a career high for the Woodbury product in rebounds. His previous stood at 18, which he hit twice in November against Utah and DePaul. It also notched his seventh double-double and third first-half double-double this season. That leaves him just one short of his last season double-double total.Â
A notable name that never managed to reach this historic feat was Minnesota great Jordan Murphy. When asked postgame about accomplishing something so extraordinary, Oturu credited Murphy, saying, "Just learning from Murph, he is a special guy and was a special player here, so being able to play with him for a year was very helpful. He taught me a lot."Â
Head coach Richard Pitino praised Oturu's game as well, saying, "he's playing great basketball and very, very efficiently, and what's exciting, is that he can still get better at a lot of things."
The dominant performance from Oturu helped lead the Gophers past visiting FIU 89-62. Beyond Oturu, the Maroon and Gold was boosted by strong performances from fellow sophomores Gabe Kalscheur (20 points, five steals) and Marcus Carr (17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists).
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Saturday night was a memorable one for Gophers sophomore Daniel Oturu as he celebrated the new year a little early. Oturu posted the first Minnesota 20-20 double-double performance since Tom Kondla had 33 points and 23 rebounds at Kansas State on Dec. 1, 1966. His final statline read 21 points, 20 rebounds, and 8-12 from the field in just 32 minutes.
To add some context to how long it's been since a Gopher player managed this feat, here are some fun facts surrounding that time. The President of the United States was Lyndon B. Johnson, "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys was a top 10 song in the U.S.A, and Wilt Chamberlain was the reigning MVP in the NBA. The NHL only had 12 teams, and there hadn't even been a Super Bowl yet. In other words, it's been a long, long time.
Saturday marked a career high for the Woodbury product in rebounds. His previous stood at 18, which he hit twice in November against Utah and DePaul. It also notched his seventh double-double and third first-half double-double this season. That leaves him just one short of his last season double-double total.Â
A notable name that never managed to reach this historic feat was Minnesota great Jordan Murphy. When asked postgame about accomplishing something so extraordinary, Oturu credited Murphy, saying, "Just learning from Murph, he is a special guy and was a special player here, so being able to play with him for a year was very helpful. He taught me a lot."Â
Head coach Richard Pitino praised Oturu's game as well, saying, "he's playing great basketball and very, very efficiently, and what's exciting, is that he can still get better at a lot of things."
The dominant performance from Oturu helped lead the Gophers past visiting FIU 89-62. Beyond Oturu, the Maroon and Gold was boosted by strong performances from fellow sophomores Gabe Kalscheur (20 points, five steals) and Marcus Carr (17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists).
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