With Rashad Vaughn now off the board to UNLV, Myles Turner and JaQuan Lyle remain the two highest-ranked uncommitted prospects in the Class of 2014.
And it’s possible either or both won’t commit until after the Final Four in April.
The 6-foot-11 Turner is still considering about a half dozen schools, but his father, David Turner, made some interesting comments to Jason King of Bleacher Report, indicating that Oklahoma State and Texas are the closest to home — which would thereby allow Myles’ famly to see him play the most.
“My main message to him is, ‘Don’t settle,’” David Turner told BR. “He has good options. He needs to get what he looking for.
“I know family atmosphere is important. If he goes somewhere like Texas or Oklahoma State, (my wife and I) can probably get to a lot of those games. If he goes to Duke or Kansas, we won’t be able to. So he has to make sure he’s comfortable with the family atmosphere he’s looking for.”
Turner has taken officials to Ohio State and Oklahoma State, and had this to say about Oklahoma State.
“I really like the town of Stillwater,” he told BR. “I went there a few weeks ago and the atmosphere was great. They haven’t been winning lately but the fans are still behind them. That impressed me.”
Oklahoma State also remains in the mix for the 6-5 Lyle, who is also considering Kansas, Oregon and Providence, among others.
As for Texas, Turner has been there unofficially and they may be the dark horse in the race for his services.
“Texas is the hometown team,” Myles told BR. “I’ve been a fan of the Longhorns since I was a kid. KD is my favorite all-time player. I’ve always gone to their camps. I get a good vibe from Texas.”
Meantime, Duke and Kansas remain options even though Duke has Jahlil Okafor coming in. Duke has pitched Turner that he and Okafor could play together.
“Duke’s history speaks for itself,” Turner told BR. “That’s all I can say about that.”
Kansas has a great tradition with big men, including current center Joel Embiid, the presumed No. 1 pick in the Draft. If Embiid goes, Turner could slide right in and take his spot. If he stays, Kansas coach Bill Self has told the Turners it probably wouldn’t be ideal for him, although David Turner told BR they would still consider Kansas.
Kentucky, Arizona and Ohio State also remain options.
As we reported here, Turner plans to use the upcoming McDonald’s All-American and Nike Hoop Summit events to get a feel for several of the players committed to schools on his list.
Photo: Star-Telegram