Team Usa Basketball, Acc Basketball, Aau Basketball

1
Uncommitted
AAU Player
Myles Turner Has Teams
Drooling
IRVING The free throw rolled off the rim, and
the jeers started up.It was not Myles Turners
night.
Double- and triple-teamed for the first three
quarters, hed become an offensiveafterthoug
ht for his Euless Trinity teammates, who seemed
content to seek open looksset up by dribble
drives to thebasket.
His absence was noticeable, especially
considering that against Irving, he was a
headtaller than anyone else on the court. Midway
through the fourth quarter, the 6-111/2senior
had four points from six shots.
Its not as if Turner isnt skilled far from
it. In fact, he might be the most skilled
highschool big man in the country while facing
the basket. A good ball-handler for his
size,with solid footwork, a fluid outside
shooting stroke, and ability to use either hand
while inthe post Turners skills aretailored
for the college and professional level.
But for those expecting to see a 7-footer
throwing down on a bunch of hapless highschool
players, it wasnt happening at least not on
this Tuesday nightin mid-January.
Instead, one of the best high school prospects in
the country was getting heckled, whileSMU coach
Larry Brown sat 20 feet away, pining for Turners
talents.
2
Top of the list
Turner is the most sought-after recruit in the
country, the only consensus top-10 playerwho
hasnt orally committed or signed with a college.
Named to the McDonalds All-American roster last
week, Turner is listed by both ESPNand Scout.com
as the No. 2 prospect in the nation, behind
Chicago postJahlil Okafor.
Ask him for teams in the running, and Turner will
rattle off his seven finalists Arizona,Duke,
Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and
Texas in that order,which, by no coincidence,
isalphabetical. Programs such as SMU andTexas AM
aresticking around, still recruitinghim despite
the list.
Before Turner initially cut down his group of
suitors, he had little peace and quiet.
There was one night where my dad, my mom and
myself were on the phone, all with adifferent
coach, at the same time, Turner said. We could
never spendas much familytime as we wanted
because of the process itself.
At the height of the craziness, Turner received
119 letters from colleges in a single day.My
mom made me read every single one of them,
Turner said.
As one of 10 U.S. players selected for Aprils
Nike Hoop Summit, Turner will use theshowcase to
iron out his finaldecision playing alongside
recruits fromArizona, Dukeand Kansas.
Whenever he decides to go, hell make a name for
himself, his father, David Turner,said. His
ultimate goal isnt to get in the NBA, but to
stick around, to be on that third orfourth
contract.
3
A late bloomer
Turners goals werent always so lofty.
In fact, he was largely unknown coming into his
junior year.
That makes him an outlier among most other
McDonalds All-Americans, who havebeen seen as
potential superstars for the last three or four
years.
For example, Prime Preps Emmanuel Mudiay helped
Arlington Grace Prep to theTAPPS 4A title as a
freshman, leading the team in scoring in the
championship game.Houston St. Johns forward
Justise Winslow already had two AAU titles and a
SPC titlein hand after his freshman year. And
Okafor, the consensus No. 1 recruit, got his
firstoffer from DePaul as an eighth-grader.
As a freshman, Turner was a gangly 6-2 post still
on the freshman team.
His potential was there, but unless you really
know basketball you couldnt see it,David
Turner said. I put him in front of the top
programs in the Dallas area on the AAUcircuit,
and they saw him but didnt know what they were
looking at.
The key was that Myles kept grinding Trinity
coach Mark Villines called him one ofhis teams
tireless workers and growing, 3 to 4 inches per
year. Between hissophomore and junior seasons,
Turner, then 6-7, might have made a splash on
theAAU scene. But he broke his ankle on the
first spring game of 2012, chasing a playerdown
while making a hustle play.
While it slowed his recruitment, Turner said he
has since looked at the injury as ablessing.
I was able to sit back and look at it, really
reflect on the game of basketball, he said.Of
course, I worked on my upper-body strength, too,
so I was more physically fit to playat the next
level.
With Turner about 30 pounds heavier from weight
training at the start of his juniorseason, the
time off had transformed his body and
revolutionized his game.
Turner vaulted up recruiting lists in the spring
and summer of 2013 playing in the morewide-open
AAU game with Texas Select, going from unranked
to the top 10 in a matterof months. Time and
again, Turner showed well against the nations
best players at
4
the LeBron camp, the Nike Big Man Skills Academy,
the NBPA Top 100 camp, AdidasNations and the
Elite 24 invitational at Brooklyns Barclay
Center.
Hes taken an unusual route to get to where hes
at completely unknown to wherehe is now,
David Turner said. Hes blue-collared his way
there.
Inside-outside threat
Days after the loss to Irving, folded into a
couch in the Trinity coaching office,
Turnergrimaced as he recalled the game, which he
called his worst of the year.
It was for Trinity as well, the only district
loss of the season as Irving came back from
ascoreless first quarter for a 37-36 upset.
You want to affect the game and show everybody
that this is what you can do, Turnersaid. To
be shut down, in a sense, its very frustrating.
This season, however, has been anything but.
Behind Turner and senior guard AdrianWong,
Trinity (21-6, 10-1 in 6-5A) is off to its best
start since 2000, clinching a playoffberth with
three games remaining in the regular season.
Turner is a huge cog to Trinitys success, but
coach Mark Villines said he thinks histeam is
scratching the surface on how good it can be.
Defensively, theres no question that Turner can
dominate at the high school level. Withlong arms
and good athleticism, hes a natural shot blocker
deterring all but thestrong-willed from a trip
to the rim.
Offensively, though, Turners had to pick his
spots. Most opponents have taken thestrategy
that if Trinity is going to beat them, its not
going to happen in the paint.
Despite that, Turner is still Trinitys leading
scorer averaging nearly 18 points pergame
thanks, in large part, to his ability to collect
offensive rebounds and score intransition. On
the block, he rarely touches the ball without at
least two defendersacknowledging him. Hes
reliant on teammates getting him the ball in the
post preferably as early as possible during a
possession. And thats been a problem.
Coach has been on us all year, Wong said,
about getting him the ball down low.
Itssomething were still working on.
While its frustrating, Turner and Trinity are
making do. Turner deftly finds teammateswith
passes out of double teams. Hes had to.
Following the loss to Irving, Turner
5
scored eight points in a 46-point win against
Carrollton R.L. Turner, hemmed in by
atriangle-and-two defense.
You are not going to see that at the next
level, Villines said. And as a coach, I
dontwant him to coming down and standing on the
block all the time. Obviously, thats wherewe
can take advantage of him, but he does so many
other things well. He pick-and-pops, he can
shoot the 3. Percentage-wise, hes our best
3-point shooter.
Despite his struggles against Irving, he nearly
won the game with nine secondsremaining, making
a contested corner 3-pointer.
Like his team, Turner is still a work in
progress. Becoming more of a back-to-the-basketbr
uiser is something Turner knows he needs to work
on for success at the college level.
Im not completely comfortable with my size
yet, Turner said. I definitely need to
getbigger and stronger to be able to go down
there and bang more.
So hes in the gym working and trying to shut
down any potential hecklers.
If you know more informations about
wecatchreck.com, top basketball players,
highschool basketball, basketball videos, aau
basketball, aau tournaments Please VisitOfficial
Site http//www.wecatchreck.com
Top basketball players, High school basketball,
basketball videos, aau basketball,
aautournaments, aau boys basketball, top AAU
basketball teams, Basketball, high schoolsports,
high school recruits