BleedGopher
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per Marcus:
He is embracing that role at home and for the Gophers men’s basketball team, which opens a new season Tuesday. Oturu helped Minnesota reach the NCAA tournament as a freshman, and he’s added 20 pounds of muscle, determined to get back there and become an All-Big Ten sophomore.
Raised in a family that spent years apart and crossed an ocean before reaching Minnesota, Oturu calls it “God’s work” that he’s here right now, a Minnesota-grown talent playing for the hometown Gophers.
Swaying beside him in the pew is his father, Francis, who stands only 5-5 but learned to play pingpong so well, it paved the way for the family’s migration from Nigeria.
Praying along next to them is Oturu’s mother, Deborah, who at 6-1 never played basketball but bought her outsized son his first roundball and encouraged him to give it a try.
Now, with Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy off to the pros, Oturu will be the offensive and defensive focal point, the face of the program.
“He’s humble; he’s fun-loving,” coach Richard Pitino said. “He has a great pride in the state and great pride for the name on the front of the jersey. He wants to win and has a great heart.”
http://www.startribune.com/for-goph...l-oturu-home-is-where-the-heart-is/564290832/
Go Gophers!!
He is embracing that role at home and for the Gophers men’s basketball team, which opens a new season Tuesday. Oturu helped Minnesota reach the NCAA tournament as a freshman, and he’s added 20 pounds of muscle, determined to get back there and become an All-Big Ten sophomore.
Raised in a family that spent years apart and crossed an ocean before reaching Minnesota, Oturu calls it “God’s work” that he’s here right now, a Minnesota-grown talent playing for the hometown Gophers.
Swaying beside him in the pew is his father, Francis, who stands only 5-5 but learned to play pingpong so well, it paved the way for the family’s migration from Nigeria.
Praying along next to them is Oturu’s mother, Deborah, who at 6-1 never played basketball but bought her outsized son his first roundball and encouraged him to give it a try.
Now, with Amir Coffey and Jordan Murphy off to the pros, Oturu will be the offensive and defensive focal point, the face of the program.
“He’s humble; he’s fun-loving,” coach Richard Pitino said. “He has a great pride in the state and great pride for the name on the front of the jersey. He wants to win and has a great heart.”
http://www.startribune.com/for-goph...l-oturu-home-is-where-the-heart-is/564290832/
Go Gophers!!
