Why wasn't Cretin star Daniel Oturu on the boys' basketball all-tournament team?
Daniel Oturu, as he has done all season, showed why Gophers fans are so excited to have the big man on campus next season.
The 6-10 Cretin-Derham Hall center averaged 21.7 points, 9 rebounds and 6.3 blocks in three Class 4A state tournament games — with the last two of those points coming on a dunk with 0.5 seconds left to give the Raiders a 79-78 win in a thrilling championship game Saturday over Apple Valley.
There were plenty of standout players and performances in the tournament, but Oturu was clearly at or near the top. But when the 10-member Class 4A all-tournament team was named and released shortly after the championship game, Oturu was not on it, though three of his teammates were. So what gives?
Well, there isn’t an official answer yet. I’ve reached out to the Minnesota State High School League in hopes of gaining some clarity.
The news release says the team was selected by “media attending the tournament,” but it’s hard to fathom many — if any — media folks leaving Oturu off the list. Indeed, it’s rather informal but KDHL radio in Faribault conducted a quick survey of area media members after Oturu was left off the team and concluded, “Everyone I spoke with said they voted for him.”
The best guess is that Oturu was left off the team because the MSHSL, acting in a gatekeeper role, deemed that his sporstmanship was not up to par. Oturu received a technical foul in the first half of the title game for shoving Apple Valley star Tre Jones.
Clearly punitive for the shove on Tre. Only explanation. But you know what? Daniel won’t care.
— Extraneous Ed (@Extraneous_Ed) March 25, 2018
Oturu retweeted that and other tweets after the game.
He also had a few words of his own to add, declaring “No matter what you say about me and my team, you can never take away the fact that we are champions.”
Can’t believe you were left off the all tournament team, but than again that’s petty compared to beating Apple valley for a state title. Excited to see you in maroon and gold . Also hope to see you in the summer league at delasalle
— Mochi2X�� (@50ShadesOfCorey) March 26, 2018
In the big picture, it’s more of a mystery than a big deal. Oturu figures to rack up bigger honors once he starts his career with the Gophers. Still: Whether this was an oversight or a punishment for a technical foul, it seems strange at least.