"Texas is the hometown team. 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."
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“My main message to him is, ‘Don’t settle,’” David Turner said. “He has good options. He needs to get what he's 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’s father works in customer service at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. His mother is the housekeeping supervisor at the Dallas Sheraton.
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When he’s not with his high school team, Turner has been working out two weekends a month in Houston with former NBA coach John Lucas as well as strength coach Ken Roberson, who is known for his work with players from the Dallas area who have gone on to the NBA.
“He knows how much work he still has to do,” David Turner said. “(Coaches) say he’s not going to be in the paint very much, but when you’re 7'0", you’re going to have to play in the paint at least some of the time. He’s going to have to get a lot stronger, as long as it doesn’t affect that stroke.”
Lucas compared Turner to former Texas star LaMarcus Aldridge, who now stars for the Portland Trailblazers.
“He’s a program-changer,” Lucas said. “He can play anything from guard to center, and coaches will love him because of his work ethic. He listens. He wants to get better.
“I’m not sure we’ll see everything he has to offer while he’s in college because of all the zones and double teams he’ll face. But once he gets to play with a little freedom, he has the tools to be a star.”
