The prized recruit in Richard Pitino’s 2018 recruiting class suffered a shoulder injury and will miss an extended period of time after undergoing surgery later this week.
According to Charley Walters of the Pioneer press, 6-foot-10 power forward Daniel Oturu injured his shoulder while practicing for the Hoop Summit world junior tournament.
Walters says Oturu is expected to be out for four months, although Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune says it could be six months before he’s ready to play.
A 4-6 month rehab window would put Oturu in line to return sometime between August and early October, giving him a little bit of time to get ready for the start of the season in November.
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Oturu led Cretin-Derham Hall to the Class 4A state championship in March, finishing off the exciting title game with a game-winning dunk in the final seconds of play.
Joining Oturu in the 2018 class are Orono forward Jarvis Omersa and DeLaSalle guard Gabe Kalscheur, both 3-star recruits by 247 Sports.
Gophers offer 3 2020 Minnesota recruits
Meanwhile, Pitino and the Gophers offered scholarships to three current Minnesota high school sophomores: Prior Lake’s 6-foot-10 Dawson Garcia, Park Center’s 6-foot-8 Dain Dainja and East Ridge’s 6-foot-9 Ben Carlson.
Blessed to have received a scholarship offer from my hometown School, the University of Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/lKgtjtZVBN
— Dawson (@Dawson23lee) April 30, 2018
Proud to announce that I have received an offer from the University of Minnesota! pic.twitter.com/dMNVJlBVgb
— Ben Carlson (@ben_carlson20) April 30, 2018
Blessed to Receive an offer from the Minnesota Gophers〽️ pic.twitter.com/esAckwKTJs
— Dain Dainja (@DDainja) May 1, 2018
Pitino is also trying to keep 5-star Rochester John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt in his home state. 247 Sports’ crystal ball gives Kansas a slight edge over Minnesota to land the 2019 recruit.
