Online Now 316

WSR Gridiron Report

On this Board 88
Record: 765 (9/29/2012)

Online now 209
Record: 7245 (2/26/2012)

Boards ▾

WSR Gridiron Report

WSR Full Court Report

WSR Arizona Athletics Report

Reply

Interview with Josiah Turner

  • Josiah Turner, a highly-touted Class of 2011 point guard from Sacramento, was not surprised that his good friend and former Drew Gooden Soldiers AAU teammate Nick Johnson committed to Arizona last week.

    "I guess you could say I was surprised how fast he did it," Turner, a 6-foot-3, 5-Star prospect, told me tonight. "I didn't think he'd do it that quick before taking his visits."

    Turner, who yesterday moved his visit to Arizona to Sept. 17-18 instead of the previous date of Oct. 22-23, might pull the trigger on a decision like Johnson if he likes the campus he visits.

    "I plan on taking all my visits, but if I come across a school I really like, that could change," Turner told me.

    He first visits Louisville the weekend of Sept. 3-4 and has tentatively scheduled a trip to Connecticut the following weekend, although he said, "I'm not sure if I'm gonna take that one or not."

    Then comes the trip to Tucson the following week, which happens to be the weekend of Arizona's football game with Iowa. Arizona Stadium should be packed and the atmosphere should be ripe. Johnson will accompany Turner on the trip.

    "That's one of the reasons why I moved it up; Nick is able to be there that weekend," Turner said. "I'm looking forward to it. I want to see the campus and the facilities. I've never been to Tucson."

    Turner's other high-profile visit is to Kansas on Oct. 15, the first day of college basketball practice, highlighted by the "Late Night in the Phog" event at midnight. He also is slated to visit Oregon (at an undetermined date, if it happens). The trip to Eugene was originally scheduled for the weekend he will now be in Tucson.

    Arizona's coaches will be the first to have an in-home visit on Sept. 9 with Turner and his mother Doris Ward, who Turner said is playing a significant role in his recruiting process. They are visiting on the first day visits can be made. Kansas coach Bill Self will visit Turner and Ward on Sept. 13.

    Turner, a former ASU recruit who once committed to the Sun Devils, said he is strongly considering Arizona "because I really like their coaching staff. We have a good relationship going."

    Johnson said after his commitment last week that he will recruit Turner to Tucson. Turner said he has "not heard much from him but that's because we've been busy." Turner started school Aug. 2. Johnson is preparing for his senior season at Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep. He is participating this weekend in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 in Venice Beach, Calif.

    "We are cool," Turner said of his relationship with Johnson. "He's a really good athlete. I like to play with him because the way he can jump, you can just throw it up there and he'll put it in."

    Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy point guard Quinn Cook is tentatively scheduled to officially visit the UA campus Sept. 24 with his new teammate Sidiki Johnson, who has already verbally committed to Wildcats.

    Cook is also participating in the Boost Mobile Elite 24, which will be televised live by ESPNU. The dunk competition, of which Johnson is participating in, is Friday at 5 p.m., Tucson time, and the game is Saturday at 4:30 p.m..

    "I'm definitely gonna catch that on TV," Turner said. "Hope Nick does well."

    This post has been edited 3 times, most recently by Javier Morales on 8/27/2010 at 12:20 AM

    Javier Morales

  • Great interview and article. The truth comes out.

    National Basketball Recruiting Analyst & Publisher of Wildcat Sports Report

    Gary Randazzo

  • Post I published at TucsonCitizen.com describing the full-court press applied to recruit Turner, who is an obvious coveted recruit by Sean Miller and his staff:

    Full-court press installed by Arizona to land Turner - Wild About AZ Cats

    Full-court press installed by Arizona to land Turner - Wild About AZ Cats

    tucsoncitizen.com

    Javier Morales

  • Great article Javier... it has been really exciting to watch this build up, I'm really hoping he commits during the visit and blows off Kansas. Bill Self is a pretty crafty recruiter, and I'm pretty sure he could find a way to sell Turner on Kansas regardless of how stacked they are or whether or not they actually have any available scholarships.

    blueleaf11

  • What a difference a year makes. Remember the feeling during the Selby, Lamb discussions. It was such an uphill battle with those guys. Not so this year. It is great that Miller has generated some leverage with competition for these positions. I love Momo and I'm excited to see Mayes in action this year and if Turner or Cook join Johnson and Johnson in this class we are on our way back to the Elite 8 in 2012. It is a great time to be a Cat!

    Colorado Mark

  • Mark,

    I think that you should move our arrival back to "Elite" status up one year :-)

    Robert

    KattzLover

  • blueleaf,

    The build-up to this is starting to get to me, too! It has been too long since I last felt this level of excitement with our basketball program - it is good to be back (almost) :-)

    P.S. In response to one of Javier's points, I would add that the first two football games now become even more important than they already were. In order to have the right kind of atmosphere for the Iowa game, we need to really stomp on Toledo and the Citadel, and have the community in a frenzy over the Iowa game. That would really amp up the level of excitement on campus and in the community, and undoubtedly increase our chances in landing Josiah.

    KattzLover

  • I hear ya KattzLover, Tucson needs to go absolutely nuts for the Iowa game. It is a huge opportunity to make a early season statement.

    Back to basketball though- can anyone provide a breakdown of the scholarship situation? I'm trying to figure out if Miller is going to have to do some shuffling (ala Bill Self getting Brady Morningstar's parents to pay his way last year so he could sign Xavier Henry) to make the commitment of Turner or Cook work.

    blueleaf11

  • next year, we will most likely be w/o DW, and we will be minus 1 senior. there's 2
    also, DWise is on scholarship, year to year. if tree leaves, there's 4 with the minus 1 taken care of.
    the following year, fogg and lavender are gone. the real question is how are we gonna keep some of our players past 2-3 years.

    uofasteve

  • Kattz,
    No doubt I'd love to see the success start this year - perhaps a Sweet 16 run is possible? Much will depend on KReal's & Tree's development. If the two can produce anywhere near 12 pts and 10 boards - freeing up Williams - all things are possible. Without that type of production I'm afraid we are still a couple years away. Regardless of this year's results, it is hard not to think the team is on the rise and will soon be dominating the PAC again!

    Colorado Mark

  • Mark,

    I think that we agree, and I just mixed my years up :-)

    I also think that this year will be a Sweet 16 type of year. It was the following year that I thought that we would ascend to "Elite" status, and I can now see that you do, too!

    Yes, THAT year is the 2011/2012 season - my bad :-)

    KattzLover

  • It would be nice to get one of these 2 top point guard targets left but a point isn't an absolute necessity at this time. If we don't get either of them, we should just move forward with what we have and focus on some bigs and/or athletic wings. Momo and Mayes will develop into decent floor leaders and we have plenty of guys that can handle the ball on this roster. If D-Will leaves after this year, our PF/C positions will be very very thin.

    labeardown

  • So this is what it looks like for next year, with just natural, "seniors-leaving" attrition:

    Senior: G Kyle Fogg, C Alex Jacobson, G Brendan Lavender, F Jesse Perry
    Junior: G MoMo Jones, F Solomon Hill, F Kevin Parrom, F Derrick Williams, C Kyryl Natyazhko
    Sophomore: G Daniel Bejarano, G Jordin Mayes, G Robert Arvizu (Walk-on)
    Freshmen: F Sidiki Johnson, G Nick Johnson, G Josiah Turner/G Quinn Cook

    That puts us at 14 scholarships in a year where the penalties have reduced us to 12. Even if D-Will leaves to the NBA we're still in a bind. I think it's doubtful that any of next year's seniors would transfer to play one year of ball somewhere else, barring a major falling out with the coaches or some unforeseen family situation (or something like that).

    I guess I'm wondering what people think will happen if D-Will doesn't go pro (putting 2 over the limit), or if he does (still one over the limit).

    I'm hoping that Fogg or Momo blows up this year and maybe goes pro, but I'm also thinking that's a stretch. Thoughts?

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by blueleaf11 on 8/27/2010 at 5:41 PM

    blueleaf11

  • blueleaf11 said...

    So this is what it looks like for next year, with just natural, "seniors-leaving" attrition:

    Senior: G Kyle Fogg, C Alex Jacobson, G Brendan Lavender, F Jesse Perry Junior: G MoMo Jones, F Solomon Hill, F Kevin Parrom, F Derrick Williams, C Kyryl Natyazhko Sophomore: G Daniel Bejarano, G Jordin Mayes, G Robert Arvizu (Walk-on) Freshmen: F Sidiki Johnson, G Nick Johnson, G Josiah Turner/G Quinn Cook

    That puts us at 14 scholarships in a year where the penalties have reduced us to 12. Even if D-Will leaves to the NBA we're still in a bind. I don't think Tree is going to leave to go play D-II ball (he can't leave for another D-I program without forfeiting his final year of eligibility).

    I guess I'm wondering what people think will happen if D-Will doesn't go pro (putting 2 over the limit), or if he does (still one over the limit).

    I'm hoping that Fogg or Momo blows up this year and maybe goes pro, but I'm also thinking that's a stretch. Thoughts?

    Tree will graduate and they have no reason to extend the scholarship, nor any obligation to do so past his 4 years. So, most likely he is gone.

    Barring a serious injury, it is highly doubtful that DW doesn't go league. If he doesn't, then you can pretty much expect whomever gets the least playing time this year to be asked to transfer.

    Bear Down Arizona! Wildcat Sports Report, CFO AZ's Certified Tax Coach at Wildcat Tax & Accountingwww.WildcatTax.com

    bpwildcat

  • Thanks bpwildcat- I think you caught me in the middle of editing/changing my post...

    I can't remember, did Tree redshirt? I'm guessing that is what you're saying, that even though Tree would have another year of eligibility, his scholarship could be available.

    Also, not to mention I forgot Max Wiepking...

    Senior: G Kyle Fogg, C Alex Jacobson, G Brendan Lavender, F Jesse Perry
    Junior: G MoMo Jones, F Solomon Hill, F Kevin Parrom, F Derrick Williams, C Kyryl Natyazhko, F Max Wiepking (Walk-on)
    Sophomore: G Daniel Bejarano, G Jordin Mayes, G Robert Arvizu (Walk-on)
    Freshmen: F Sidiki Johnson, G Nick Johnson, G Josiah Turner/G Quinn Cook

    This post was edited by blueleaf11 on 8/27/2010 at 5:52 PM

    blueleaf11

  • Yes, Tree did redshirt his freshman year. And he is expected to graduate.

    Bear Down Arizona! Wildcat Sports Report, CFO AZ's Certified Tax Coach at Wildcat Tax & Accountingwww.WildcatTax.com

    bpwildcat

  • One slight correction on blueleaf11's post:

    Assuming Jacobson earns his degree this year (he's on schedule to do that), he can then transfer to another D-I school without having to sit out a year and or losing any other immediate eligibility status.

    National Basketball Recruiting Analyst & Publisher of Wildcat Sports Report

    Gary Randazzo

  • Thanks bp and gary- that's what I was looking for.

    I figured I had to be wrong about that original post, that's why I changed the "Tree transferring" part.

    Thanks for clearing up my confusion though :)

    This post was edited by blueleaf11 on 8/27/2010 at 5:57 PM

    blueleaf11

  • Bymy count the Cats are one over their scholarship limit (12) for the 2011-12 season with the verbal commitments of Sidki and Nick. However, no one believes DWill will return and there is always the Jacobson option as well.
    As for 2012-13, IF everyone returns the Cats would still have three scholarships to give assuming they add a third player to the 2011 class. They would get the scholarships from Perry, Fogg and Lavender, who would all graduate.

    Editor-In-Chief of Wildcat Sport Report and co-host of the Arizona football and basketball pre and postgame shows on 1290 KCUB.

    BradAllis

Arizona
247Sports
Features
Resources
Connect

247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports