Football star Tre Turner wants to play hoops as well

EMERSON, Ga. – A top football prospects this summer, Tre Turner is one of the more unique high school athletes in the 2018 class. Ranked No. 77 as a football player in the Rivals100, the 6-foot-2 junior can play some basketball, too, which he has shown this spring on the Nike EYBL circuit. Down to a final list of 10 schools, there remains a chance that the Carolina native could opt to play both football and basketball next fall.

Playing with the Team CP3 17-under team this spring, Turner has shown major confidence with his perimeter jumper and is already a well-polished defender and quality athlete at the basket. Sporting major grades in the classroom, Turner addressed where things stand with his recruitment.

“I have 27 offers for football but I have a top 10 of Virginia Tech Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee,” he said.

The half-brother of former UNC star wing PJ Hairston, Turner would like to become a dual athlete in college, hoping to juggle both football and basketball. “Growing up, I always wanted to play college basketball but when I started playing football and getting all of those offers, I think basketball coaches started thinking that I was just a football guy so they stopped recruiting me,” Turner said. “As of right now, I would love to play both.”

Dartmouth, Yale and Richmond have remained in the mix on the basketball side hoping that Turner will select basketball as his primary sport. While Ole Miss and Miami haven’t given the proper clearances to play both sports in college, the remaining eight on his list have. Turner spoke further on a few of the schools that are standing out.

Florida State: “I went there for a weekend and me and Coach (Leonard) Hamilton sat and talked in his office for an hour or so. It was a good conversation.

“It is beautiful down there. The campus and the way that the academics are set up and with the football and basketball teams being good, it would be a good fit for me but I am still thinking about everything else and all of the other factors that go into.”

NC State: “Coach (Kevin) Keatts, he coached my older brother (Hairston) when he went to Hargrave for his senior year, so he has always been in the family and we have always talked. Once he got the job at NC State, the first day that he was on the job, I went on a football visit and we FaceTimed since it was a dead period; it was a really good conversation.”

UNC: “My brother is just telling me to not let anything get in my head. I played with Leaky (Rechon Black) since I was 12 and I just started playing with Coby White last year so if you like Carolina, go there, but don’t go just because of your friends.

“They were one of the first schools that really had hard interest in me. They were my fifth offer and they stuck with me ever since. It is always a good conversation when I talk to Carolina.”

Turner will stick to the hardwood in the weeks ahead as he will finish out his final summer on the travel circuit playing with the Team CP3 17-under unit.

When it comes to the college recruitment process, a well-formed plan has been set. “I am graduating this December and enrolling in January. I am going to decide after this summer and make a decision right before football starts,” he said. “I am planning on breaking my list down to five or three during the summer and after the EYBL is over, then that might be when I make my decision.”

Playing one sport is hard enough but excelling at two is an entirely different animal. However, Turner is one of the better all-around athletes in the 2018 class as the four star football recruit is averaging close to nine points off of 44-percent shooting from 3-point range this summer, going up against the very best that there is on the national scale.

Look for a commitment out of Turner by the end of August and for the Carolina native to choose the school that offers the best mix of football and basketball.