Myles Turner was a relative unknown before the NBPA Top 100 camp last month. Now he is one of the more intriguing recruits in the Class of 2014.
Turner was the ninth member of his recruiting class to pick up a scholarship offer from Duke. Grayson Allen, the Blue Devils' lone commit thus far, broke the news at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas last weekend. Allen and Turner were slated to be teammates at the event, but Turner was forced to sit out with a nagging leg injury.
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A 6-foot-11 center from Euless, Texas, Turner is now ranked the No. 10 player in the Class of 2014 by ESPN after being unranked on that same list more than a month ago. Turner's recruitment is still in its infancy at this point—he "trimmed" his list of schools from 60 to 25 recently—but it will be interesting to see how Duke is a player from here on out. The Blue Devils are still intent on top-ranked prospect Jahlil Okafor being their center of the future, but in the last month have now offered scholarships to two more big men, Turner and Goodluck Okonoboh.
With Allen already on board for 2014 and guard Austin Grandstaff already committed to Oklahoma State, Duke now has seven Class of 2014 scholarship offers to unsigned players for next year.
Turner was one of many 2014 targets that were on hand at the LeBron James Skills Academy last weekend. Here is the full list, including their official measurements.
- Grayson Allen: 6'4.5", 189 lbs., 6'6.5" wingspan
- Devin Booker: 6'6", 194 lbs., 6'7" wingspan
- Kevon Looney: did not take measurements
- Goodluck Okonoboh: 6'10", 213 lbs., 7'2.5" wingspan
- Myles Turner: 6'10", 223 lbs. 7'2" wingspan
Of the remaining 2014 targets attending the showcase in Las Vegas, Kevon Looney was one of the more intriguing draws. Looney had originally planed to cut his list of suitors to five schools July 5, but has yet to do so. ESPN Senior Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep reported Monday that Looney is now expected to cut his list to five by the end of the month.
Workouts at the LeBron James Skills Academy are set to conclude Monday evening.
Across the pond, Okafor and Justise Winslow wrapped up their two-week stay in the Czech Republic by taking home the gold medal for the United States at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague.
Winslow was held scoreless in the gold medal game, an 82-68 victory against Serbia, and played just six minutes due to foul trouble. Okafor was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, notching six points and four boards in 11 minutes of action.
But Okafor and Winslow were two of the United States' key contributors throughout the tournament. Okafor was the team's second-leading scorer at 10.8 points per game, adding 4.8 rebounds per contest in an average of just 14.2 minutes of action. He shot 77.2 percent from the floor in the tournament's nine games and was the team's most consistent option when he was on the floor.
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Despite a disappointing final game, Winslow averaged 9.8 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Americans and was fourth on the team in scoring.
Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon started every game for the United States, averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
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