Fast-rising ESPN 100 power forward/center Myles Turner (Euless, Texas/Trinity) trimmed his list of college suitors on Wednesday.
The No. 10 overall prospect in the Class of 2014, who has seen his recruitment skyrocket this spring and summer after being unranked coming into the travel season, narrowed his list from a whopping 58 to a more manageable 26 heading into the July evaluation period and hopes to trim the list even further after this month.
"I will have the list cut to down to around a dozen after the July evaluation period," Myles said.
For now, the official list of schools that made the early cut is, in alphabetical order: Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Miami (Fla.), NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, SMU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas-Arlington, UCLA and UNLV.
Turner has already taken unofficial visits to Baylor, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M and UT-Arlington.
Following his morning workout on Wednesday, the 6-foot-11, 225-pounder trimmed his list in a meeting that was attended by his parents, David and Mary Turner, personal trainer Ken "Slim" Roberson and Trinity coach Mark Villines. Texas Select travel team coaches Shawn Williams and David Britton also had a major influence but didn't attend the meeting.
Turner has seen his recruitment explode not only because of his production on the court but because of his academic success and respectful personality off the floor. Turner is a high-character person on and off the court -- a total package who is at the top of the board in many conference rooms across the country for both college and NBA watch lists.
He reminds me at times of a young Tim Duncan with his ability to face and knock down bank shots on the 45-degree angle. He can also hit trail shots with range to the 3-point arc and has the defense and shot-blocking of a young Theo Ratliff. Turner doesn't take possessions off and is a willing and quick learner and a good teammate with a great work ethic.
You can bet all the high-major, tradition-rich bluebloods of college basketball would love to coach a young man with so much to offer -- and he is still just scratching the surface on how good he can become.