GARDNER, Kan. -- Fresh for the 2013 travel season, Under Armour has unveiled its "Association." It has split its teams into Eastern and Western conferences and has them playing in events across the country to determine seeding for its July event, the Summer Jam. This weekend, the Western teams are in suburban Kansas City for the Jayhawk Invitational. On opening night, 2014 big man
Myles Turner drew a big crowd.
To understand all of the fuss about Turner -- from Euless (Texas) Trinity -- you really need to have seen him at this time last year. At the time, the Texas Select pivot was gangly, a little uncoordinated and mostly bristling with potential. Now, he's still a little gangly, a little raw, but he's grown to about 6-foot-11 and is starting to flash serious skill.
Ranked No. 78 in the 2014 Rivals150, Turner has a chance to make a rapid rise. Even though he didn't have a dominant night on Friday, it is easy to see what the coaches see in him. He has good hands, he can shoot with legitimate 18-foot range and finishes with either hand around the basket. Think of him as a young colt just trying to find his legs or as a long-term stock.
The throng of coaches lined up to watch him play speaks to his potential.
Texas Tech's
Tubby Smith and
Texas A&M's
Billy Kennedy were joined by assistants from
Texas,
Kansas, Marquette,
Ohio State,
UCLA,
Memphis,
UNLV,
Oklahoma,
Kansas State and countless other programs. Turner said after his game that
Baylor,
Oklahoma State and
Boise State made in-home visits during the week and that Kansas was out to see him and has offered. After that he said that, his list was basically the rest of the Big 12 programs and growing.
The No. 61 player in the class of 2014, 6-foot-1 point guard
Dominique Collier of Denver (Colo.) East is in town with host club KC Run GMC. A lean and slender lead guard, Collier has a game that is about attacking off of the bounce and making things happen in the paint. Quick and slippery with the ball, he looks like he has developed a nice floater and he's become much more confident as a jump shooter.
On the recruiting trail, Collier said there are three schools emerging for him.
Colorado is heavily involved. The Buffaloes did an in-home earlier in the week, and head coach
Tad Boyle is spending time in Kansas City, where Collier can see him. Before the Buffaloes made it in home,
Iowa laid out its plans for him. Like Boyle, Hawkeyes boss
Fran McCaffery was in Kansas City watching Collier on Friday night. The third program emerging looks to be
Kansas State. Collier should be making a visit to Manhattan soon. The Wildcats had an assistant in the building on Friday night, while
Bruce Weber is expected in later this weekend.
Texas Select had the intriguing big men, but it was the Wisconsin Swing that emerged victorious in their Friday night game. Leading the way was point guard
Lamonte BeardenClick With all of the big boys lined up to watch Turner, 2016 big man Marquis BoldenClick More Friday notes and news Here to view this Link. of Texas Select put himself on the map. A 6-foot-9 freshman from DeSoto (Texas) High, Bolden has a solid frame and long legs, and he can move well for a young kid with his size. He shows willingness to fight for position, and he is one to watch down the road. Here to view this Link.. The 6-foot-1 floor general picked up where he left off when we saw him recently in Milwaukee. That means he was using quickness to get into the lane and setting up teammates. More impressive than his speed is his ability to change it mid-dribble and catch defenders off guard with changes of direction to go with it. Earlier this week Bearden picked up an offer from
Oregon StateClick With all of the big boys lined up to watch Turner, 2016 big man Marquis BoldenClick More Friday notes and news Here to view this Link. of Texas Select put himself on the map. A 6-foot-9 freshman from DeSoto (Texas) High, Bolden has a solid frame and long legs, and he can move well for a young kid with his size. He shows willingness to fight for position, and he is one to watch down the road. Here to view this Link., and the Beavers had an assistant on hand to see him.
The New Mexico Force weren't playing on the court that we were focused on Friday night. However, we couldn't help but notice their 6-foot-5 wing,
Jordan JonesClick Leading the way on Friday was the guard combination of Ore Arogundade and Erick Locke. Standing about 6-foot-3, Arogundade has terrific end-to-end speed and is capable of playing either the point or the two, depending on the lineup the Wolves use. Friday night, he was knocking down shots and playing a complete game while filling the stat sheet. Locke chipped in heavily, a 6-footer with a strong frame. One college coach put it perfectly when he said that Locke had "old man game." What he meant was that he's all about skill, being in the right place at the right time and making the right play. Locke passed willingly and well to open teammates, did scoring of his own and had guys taking notes. Locke said he's gotten offers from Valparaiso, Illinois-Chicago (where his father played) and Chicago State. Detroit, Bradley, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Wright State and others are involved. Here to view this Link. from Albuquerque (N.M.) Sandia, making plays every time we checked their game against Dallas Showtyme. A slasher with quickness, Jones looked like he knows how to get to the rim and what to do once he gets there. We'll be looking forward to a better look at him on Saturday.