I can't stress this enough. We simply have to have Myles Turner.
We need Myles to fill a hole in the middle of our game. We need a shot blocker to make up for all the poor perimeter defense we play.
And we need to continue to be "Big Man U" more than ever. Myles gives us the continuation as the school with the big man rep.
That right there says enough about how desperate we need Myles Turner.
But it goes way beyond those needs. We need Myles to be the big man that transforms Bill Self's coaching philosophy. Because the future of basketball is almost here (2 more years) and the winner of the biggest prize will have to prove themselves. And the proof will be about handling the most-talented big man of all times. Yes, I said that. Wilt Chamberlain's status on top of the clouds may finally be reached by the next great phenom.
Before going further, imagine what is possible because what I am about to share with you has never been done before. You are about to meet a 7-foot player that is more capable of running point that owning the post. Actually, he is quite capable of doing both.
The good news is that Bill Self has him circled and targeted on his radar screen. But then, so does Kentucky, Duke, Arizona and literally every D1 basketball school in America.
This new phenom, who may not threaten Chamberlain in the record book, will make a statement of what big men of the future can do. He is a sophomore in high school and already possesses far more skills than Chamberlain ever had as a pro. He matches everything Chamberlain had except strength. Just give him time to grow into his 7-foot body and to adapt to modern strength training. He'll get there.
Now we can best understand why Myles Turner is so important to Kansas basketball. Myles isn't the typical 7-footer himself, and tends to like the outside game similar to the player he admires most, Kevin Durant. So we can't guarantee he'll wear a Kansas uniform based on Self's hi/lo offense. Self's offense is the perfect offense for a post player who likes to stay in the post. Myles wants to work in the post, but he is definitely an "out of the box" type player. Instead of practicing heavy body battles in the post, he would rather work on his pick-and-pop. If Self wants to stand a chance at landing him, he will have to convince Myles that he has the best strategy for using Myle's skills, both in the post and out on the perimeter. This will be a test for Self. And if he can land Myles, he gets to prove that he can coach post players beyond the hi/lo perspective. In fact, perhaps Self's best recruiting tool would be to visit with Myles and show him this new phenom and let Myles now that he will invest whatever is necessary for Myles to develop a game of the future... the game matching this high school sophomore.
The future arrives in two years. Here is a glimpse of what we can expect:
