With as big of a turnaround as the Gophers men's basketball team has made so far this season, four-star Cretin-Derham Hall big man Daniel Oturu couldn't wait any longer to make it official that he wanted to stay home.
Oturu, a 6-9, 220-pound junior, announced Thursday afternoon he intends to play for the Gophers. The verbal commitment came in front of fellow students, friends and family in a packed high school classroom in St. Paul.
"I wanted to be the next one," Oturu said. "I pride myself a lot on Minnesota, so I felt like I needed to take that next step."
The Gophers' surprising 15-4 start paid dividends for coach Richard Pitino, who landed his most high-profile local recruit since signing former Hopkins star Amir Coffey last year.
When Oturu phoned Pitino and assistant coach Ben Johnson on Thursday over the lunch period, "I heard them pretty loud and excited."
NCAA regulations prohibit coaches from commenting publicly on a recruit until a letter of intent is signed. The earliest Oturu could sign would be in November.
Oturu is ranked No. 1 in the state's junior class by ESPN.com. He is ranked 76th nationally in 2018 by Rivals.com, 66rd by Scout.com and 63rd by 247Sports.com.
Oturu, who is averaging 18 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks this season, picked the Gophers after also receiving scholarship offers from schools such as Kansas, Texas, Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Memphis. Baylor was runner-up.