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BOYS BASKETBALL: Detroit Renaissance sophomore point guard Justin Turner’s college interest continues to grow
FT.WAYNE, Indiana – Central Michigan became the first school to offer Detroit Renaissance sophomore point guard Justin Turner last week, which was a smart idea, considering he is one of the top overall players in Michigan’s class of 2016. The Chippewas have been to a few of Turner’s high school games and he was excited that the offer finally came.
"Of course I was happy to hear the news when my coach told me," he said. "I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and to know that people are really watching what you do means a lot."
Turner said he didn’t know much about the Central Michigan program, but has been invited up to Mt.Pleasant to attend some games in the fall, and he does have plans on entertaining the offer. The 6-foot-2 combo guard will certainly get looks from bigger schools, but for the Chippewas to jump on him early is a good look.
His recruitment will only continue to grow, now that he has been offered, sort of like a domino effect. A a lot of the local programs have already been on him, but now that has grown to schools outside of Michigan.
"I really haven’t talked to any schools, my coach does, so he tells me who has called about me," said Turner. "He told me that schools like Ohio State, Boston College, Dayton, and Penn State have shown interest in me, and of course Michigan State also.
Turner was at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N-Shoot Classic over the weekend with his Michigan Mustangs 15-under team and had a very good showing, before bowing out to The Family’s 16-under team on Sunday. The Mustangs nearly came away with the win, but proved to be too much at the end. Still Turner played well head-up against fellow sophomore point guard Cassius Winston of The Family. Turner finished with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists. showing off his all-around game.
"I think I played pretty good this weekend, but definitely could have done better," he said. "Speice is a big tournament and out team played well. Playing with a player like Austin Davis was fun also, because he demanded a lot of attention, and we were a tough duo to stop."
Turner’s high school big man, Alaric Jackson, was also a the event, but played with R.E.A.C.H.’s 16-under team. Jackson had a productive weekend and showed that he can be a big contributor for his AAU team, as well as for the Phoenix in the paint. Renaissance had somewhat of a surprising season last year, going 13-6 overall and competing hard in the Detroit Public School League, at 6-4. With the league expected to be down a bit this season, the Phoenix are one of the teams expected to be really good, and maybe win it all. Turner returns in the back court with fellow sophomore guard Richard Talley, Jackson, and transfer Ted McCree, who will give them a much needed scoring boost.
"I talk to Ted, A.J., and Rich all the time about the upcoming season," said Turner. "A lot of people were surprised at what we did last year and we might have an even better team this year. I can’t wait to get out there on the court with those guys this season."
