Uncommitted

AAU PlayerMyles Turner Has Teams

DroolingIRVING — The free throw rolled off the rim, and the jeers started up.It was not Myles

Turner’s night.

Double- and triple-teamed for the first three quarters, he’d become an offensive

afterthought for his Euless Trinity teammates, who seemed content to seek open looks

set up by dribble drives to thebasket.

His absence was noticeable, especially considering that against Irving, he was a head

taller than anyone else on the court. Midway through the fourth quarter, the 6-111/2

senior had four points from six shots.

It’s not as if Turner isn’t skilled — far from it. In fact, he might be the most skilled high

school 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 in

the post — Turner’s skills aretailored for the college and professional level.

But for those expecting to see a 7-footer throwing down on a bunch of hapless high

school players, it wasn’t happening — at least not on this Tuesday nightin mid-January.

Instead, one of the best high school prospects in the country was getting heckled, while

SMU coach Larry Brown sat 20 feet away, pining for Turner’s talents.

Top of the listTurner is the most sought-after recruit in the country, the only consensus top-10 player

who hasn’t orally committed or signed with a college.

Named to the McDonald’s All-American roster last week, Turner is listed by both ESPN

and 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 A&M are

sticking 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 a

different coach, at the same time,” Turner said. “We could never spendas much family

time 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 April’s Nike Hoop Summit, Turner will use the

showcase to iron out his finaldecision — playing alongside recruits fromArizona, Duke

and Kansas.

“Whenever he decides to go, he’ll make a name for himself,” his father, David Turner,

said. “His ultimate goal isn’t to get in the NBA, but to stick around, to be on that third or

fourth contract.”

A late bloomerTurner’s goals weren’t always so lofty.

In fact, he was largely unknown coming into his junior year.

That makes him an outlier among most other McDonald’s All-Americans, who have

been seen as potential superstars for the last three or four years.

For example, Prime Prep’s Emmanuel Mudiay helped Arlington Grace Prep to the

TAPPS 4A title as a freshman, leading the team in scoring in the championship game.

Houston St. John’s forward Justise Winslow already had two AAU titles and a SPC title

in hand after his freshman year. And Okafor, the consensus No. 1 recruit, got his first

offer 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 couldn’t see it,”

David Turner said. “I put him in front of the top programs in the Dallas area [on the AAU

circuit], and they saw him but didn’t know what they were looking at.”

The key was that Myles kept grinding — Trinity coach Mark Villines called him one of

his team’s tireless workers— and growing, 3 to 4 inches per year. Between his

sophomore and junior seasons, Turner, then 6-7, might have made a splash on the

AAU scene. But he broke his ankle on the first spring game of 2012, chasing a player

down while making a hustle play.

While it slowed his recruitment, Turner said he has since looked at the injury as a

blessing.

“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 play

at the next level.”

With Turner about 30 pounds heavier from weight training at the start of his junior

season, 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 more

wide-open AAU game with Texas Select, going from unranked to the top 10 in a matter

of months. Time and again, Turner showed well against the nation’s best players — at

the LeBron camp, the Nike Big Man Skills Academy, the NBPA Top 100 camp, Adidas

Nations and the Elite 24 invitational at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center.

“He’s taken an unusual route to get to where he’s at — completely unknown to where

he is now,” David Turner said. “He’s blue-collared his way there.”

Inside-outside threatDays after the loss to Irving, folded into a couch in the Trinity coaching office, Turner

grimaced 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 a

scoreless first quarter for a 37-36 upset.

“You want to affect the game and show everybody that this is what you can do,” Turner

said. “To be shut down, in a sense, it’s very frustrating.”

This season, however, has been anything but. Behind Turner and senior guard Adrian

Wong, Trinity (21-6, 10-1 in 6-5A) is off to its best start since 2000, clinching a playoff

berth with three games remaining in the regular season.

Turner is a huge cog to Trinity’s success, but coach Mark Villines said he thinks his

team is scratching the surface on how good it can be.

Defensively, there’s no question that Turner can dominate at the high school level. With

long arms and good athleticism, he’s a natural shot blocker — deterring all but the

strong-willed from a trip to the rim.

Offensively, though, Turner’s had to pick his spots. Most opponents have taken the

strategy that if Trinity is going to beat them, it’s not going to happen in the paint.

Despite that, Turner is still Trinity’s leading scorer — averaging nearly 18 points per

game — thanks, in large part, to his ability to collect offensive rebounds and score in

transition. On the block, he rarely touches the ball without at least two defenders

acknowledging him. He’s reliant on teammates getting him the ball in the post —

preferably as early as possible during a possession. And that’s been a problem.

“Coach has been on us all year,” Wong said, “about getting him the ball down low. It’s

something we’re still working on.”

While it’s frustrating, Turner and Trinity are making do. Turner deftly finds teammates

with passes out of double teams. He’s had to. Following the loss to Irving, Turner

scored eight points in a 46-point win against Carrollton R.L. Turner, hemmed in by a

triangle-and-two defense.

“You are not going to see that at the next level,” Villines said. “And as a coach, I don’t

want him to coming down and standing on the block all the time. Obviously, that’s where

we can take advantage of him, but he does so many other things well. He pick-and-

pops, he can shoot the 3. Percentage-wise, he’s our best 3-point shooter.”

Despite his struggles against Irving, he nearly won the game with nine seconds

remaining, making a contested corner 3-pointer.

Like his team, Turner is still a work in progress. Becoming more of a back-to-the-basket

bruiser is something Turner knows he needs to work on for success at the college level.

“I’m not completely comfortable [with my size] yet,” Turner said. “I definitely need to get

bigger and stronger to be able to go down there and bang more.”

So he’s in the gym working — and trying to shut down any potential hecklers.

If you know more information’s about wecatchreck.com, top basketball players, high

school basketball, basketball videos, aau basketball, aau tournaments Please Visit

Official Site : http://www.wecatchreck.com

Top basketball players, High school basketball, basketball videos, aau basketball, aau

tournaments, aau boys basketball, top AAU basketball teams, Basketball, high school

sports, high school recruits