INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- It wasn't long ago when Myles Turner was still in what he likes to call the "H.E.B" (Hurst-Euless-Bedford) playing for elite AAU teams against the nation's best young prospects. Turner went to the University of Texas for one short season, which was a tremendous decision for many reasons. Turner is only 19 years old and is facing the beginning of his NBA career, something that most would view as overwhelming. 

Myles Turner was drafted by a team that plays in a passionate city for their Pacers. Indiana is known for their love of not only basketball, but sports in general. Turner said that he has felt a 'positive vibe' from the people of Indianapolis so far. He really loves all of the knowledgeable fans that stop him for pictures, autographs, or even to simply wish him luck for the upcoming season. All of that resembles a sense of stardom, which is something that Turner hasn't quite gotten familiar with. 

Myles Turner on his experience in Indianapolis so far (via Basketball Insiders):

“It’s really a lot like Austin, my college town. There’s kind of a lively, good vibe to it. More than anything, the people love their sports down here, man. They love their Indianapolis Colts and you know they love their basketball down here. That’s one thing I noticed right away. I mean, anywhere I went, people knew who I was and told me they are looking forward to the season. I like that everybody knows what’s going on.”

Myles Turner on getting used to stardom (via Basketball Insiders): 

“It hasn’t [sunk in],” Turner said. “Not yet. I won’t even lie to you, it hasn’t. It’s starting to, but not yet.”

It is completely understandable to see why Turner hasn't quite come to terms with the fact that he's a star yet. It was just three years ago when Turner wasn't even expecting to play college basketball at a major college. Prior to Turner's junior season in high school, he was six inches shorter and had a broken ankle. But after that growth spurt, Turner shot up the national rankings by cracking the top 100 player rankings. Then all of a sudden Myles Turner was the second ranked player in all of the nation, behind only Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. Turner might not be used to stardom just yet, but he has shown a consistent amount of persistence to make big leaps in ability in his basketball career at each stage that he has played at. 

Cody Toppert (Director of Basketball Development at ELEV8 Institute) worked with Turner prior to his ascent to stardom. He discussed Turner's jump (via Basketball Insiders):

“It was amazing watching him blossom and just kind of blow up on the AAU circuit, and then go to the Nike Skills Academy and solidify himself as a top recruit. To me, it was the culmination of all the work that he put in behind the scenes and I think that’s really the biggest thing that Indiana can be pleased with. They haven’t just added an athlete with attributes that will lead to potential victories, they recruited a human-being who could be a leader in the locker room down the road, a human-being who’s going to learn from the veterans, a human-being who’s going to go the extra mile, do the extra work and really buy into whatever role he’s given early and then continue to expand that role. To me, that’s really what Myles is all about.”

With the improvements that Myles Turner has made from his days at the University of Texas and even since the Summer League, he has shown that he is ready to be the Pacers' starting center from day one. The Pacers decided to move on from two-time All-Star Roy Hibbert in this past off-season, leaving a mountain of opportunity for Myles Turner if he proves to the Pacers that he is ready to start from the beginning. Turner will have to compete with Ian Mahinmi, Rakeem Christmas, and potentially even Jordan Hill if the team decides to play Hill at power forward, but these are position battles that Turner should have very few problems in winning. 

Cody Toppert expanded on Myles Turner's potential as a player (via Basketball Insiders): 

“If he reaches his full potential, he could be one of the best big men in the league – no question about it. When I started working with him, and I distinctly remember this, I told him he could transcend his position. That’s something we talked about: ‘Transcend your position. Don’t just be a typical back-to-the-basket five, a slow type of player. Transcend your position by having the face-up skills, spacing the floor, being well-rounded.’ He has a great motor about him, blocking shots and getting rebounds in his area. Those things combined with his skill set, it’s clear he can be special. The league values big men like Myles. He has a unique combination of skills, versatility, size and the right kind of personality. Those are ingredients as far as putting together a recipe for success.”

There have been comparisons between Myles Turner's skill-set with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard. That is not surprising at all to either Turner, or the Pacers organization. Indiana believes that they got an absolute steal in Myles Turner and that he has the potential to become a legitimate star in the NBA. Turner's rise to NBA stardom could come quickly if he wins his positional battle for the starting center role. Turner is prepared to work as hard as it takes to win that position battle, so don't be surprised if Turner easily wins it. 

Cody Toppert discussed Myles Turner's work ethic (via Basketball Insiders): 

“Myles is just an all-in type of kid and what I mean when I say that is he is the type of player that is going to do literally whatever it takes to improve. He’ll listen to whomever he has to listen to and do whatever he has to do to be great. He’s not the type of kid that has any preconceived notions about the way things should be or entitlement issues because of the fact that he kind of rose up out of nowhere. He’s the type of kid who obviously takes everything from each previous workout session and continues to work on it after that. He wasn’t the type of kid who just saw it one time and forgot about it. He is the type of kid who saw it, picked out a few things and stuck to working on those things. Because then the next time you got with him, you could see massive improvements.”

In the recent weeks, Myles Turner has started working out at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with fellow teammates Paul George, Joe Young, Glenn Robinson III, and Rakeem Christmas. Turner said that it has been valuable for him that Paul George has essentially taken him under his wing. George wants to be the leader of the Pacers, and it appears that he is doing a great job of that so far. George has taken Turner and the other young players fishing, hangs out with them, and has worked out with them on numerous occasions. This is a great initiative being taken for both George and the young players as well. 

Myles Turner discussed how valuable Paul George has been so far (via Basketball Insiders):

“Paul George he just got out here and we have been working out and hanging out with him a lot – just fishing with him and just chilling. It’s really nice to have that. I mean, you want to be able to have a good veteran [to help you] and I think Paul George is a great veteran. He’s very focused this season coming off of that leg injury, so he’s going to be right back [to normal].”

Myles Turner stated that his list of goals includes the following: start for the Pacers (or at least have an established role), win the Rookie of the Year award, and make the playoffs with the Indiana Pacers. 

Myles Turner on his goals for the upcoming season (via Basketball Insiders): 

“The chance to be a starter right away, that’s one thing I’m working for because it’s something that’s not going to be handed to me. But it’s definitely an honor getting a good chance to kind of establish myself."

"[My rookie goals include] making sure that I have established myself and get some good playing time; I don’t have to have all the minutes, but I want to make sure I have an established role with this team and get out there and give myself a chance to prove myself. Also, of course, I want to make the playoffs. I guess the Eastern Conference kind of gets a bad rep sometimes as far as competition, so I want to make sure we are one of the top teams.”

“[Winning Rookie of the Year] Oh, that’s definitely another goal of mine and that would be an incredible honor. Being Rookie of the Year is definitely a goal of mine and hopefully it’s something that I can take with me and have in my back pocket throughout the rest of the course of my career.”

“Being an All-Star, that’s the ultimate goal and something I’m working for. It’s sort of a long-term goal at this point. I want to focus on my short-term goals and learn from them right now, but yeah, that’s definitely something I want to do.”

Myles Turner showed during the Orlando Summer League that could very well end up being the day one starter at the center position. It might have just simply been Summer League, but Turner displayed a great amount of versatility both offensively and defensively. It wasn't like he was playing lazy defense and getting open layups and dunks. Turner was making contested post fadeaways, isolating from the high post, blocking shots off of weak side defensive rotation, and much more. Turner averaged 18.7 points per game off of 60.5 percent shooting from the field. He also added 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. It was certainly an impressive display of performances for the Pacers' rookie. 

As previously mentioned, Myles Turner showed a great sense of both offensive and defensive versatility at the Orlando Summer League. 

Turner says that versatility is something that he prides himself on (via Basketball Insiders): 

“I think the game is definitely evolving; versatility is a big part of my game and what NBA teams are [looking for]. It’s very hard to guard a versatile big man that can do a lot and that’s definitely what I base my game on and what I’m trying to do.”

Myles Turner understands that he did very well in the Orlando Summer League, but not to let that sense of false reality. There are many players that have terrible Summer League performances, but have had Hall of Fame careers. There have also been players that have had great Summer League performances, but didn't have long futures in the NBA. However, it is promising that Turner showed versatility and wasn't simply "cherry picking" for easy layups. 

Turner talked about his success in the Orlando Summer League and how he has handled it (via Basketball Insiders): 

“Yeah [Summer League helped my confidence] and it was good to get those first jitters out. That’s what I thought Summer League was great for, really. You get that first little pro experience and my confidence started to rise as I was playing. I feel like I did well for myself, but more than anything though I just wanted to get those jitters out since it was my first little stint of being a pro.

“But, I mean, Summer League is just Summer League; that’s one thing that Coach [Frank] Vogel was really telling me. He’s said, ‘You know, some guys do really well in Summer League and have bad years and some guys do really bad at Summer League and have great years, so don’t get too high off of that. Be proud of yourself for the performance, but don’t get too high on that.'"

Myles Turner is coming to a team that will have him play not only a comfortable role, but with a supporting unit of players that really compliment his skillset nicely. Turner will, in all likelihood, win the position battle for the center position, meaning that he will likely start alongside the following players: George Hill, Monta Ellis, Paul George, and Jordan Hill. All of these players are terrific players to have alongside Turner, which could make for one of the best units in the NBA. 

Indiana has discussed playing "small-ball" by going small at the power forward position with Paul George. Lineups like that would allow for Turner to have tons of space to utilize his arsenal of post moves, his floor spacing jump shot, isolation skills from the low/high post, and his skills in the pick-and-roll. One of those units could look like this: George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, Paul George, and Myles Turner. Indiana has a wide variety of quality players to basically play whatever style they feel like on any given day, which could really help Myles Turner early on in his career. 

Paul George, Monta Ellis, and George Hill will handle a bulk of the scoring in the starting unit. Then Rodney Stuckey, Joe Young, and C.J. Miles can handle most of the scoring coming off of the bench, meaning that Myles Turner won't have the same kind of pressure to score that fellow rookies like Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor will face. That's why it is so good that Turner went to the Pacers in the draft, because he will be in a comfortable role that will allow for him to excel both offensively and especially defensively. With the team's ability to get the best out of their players' defensive capabilities, Indiana could find themselves with a drastically improved offense, but still maintaining or even boosting their typical defensive production.

Indiana found themselves a terrific young big man in Myles Turner. It is also great for Turner that he ended up on the Pacers, and it's practically a perfect situation for him. If Turner does win the starting job at center, there is no reason as to why Turner can't have a good enough season to win the Rookie of the Year award. He might not have an All-Star caliber season in his rookie season, but winning the top honors for an NBA rookie isn't out of the picture.

Turner has a very comfortable situation with teammates that fit his skillset, and all he needs is the minutes and he should be good to go in order to be in serious contention for the award. But the Rookie of the Year award is a nice goal, but ultimately making an impact for the Pacers is more important, which is something that Turner will certainly do. Turner should be able to help boost the Pacers' win totals from the past season and help lead the team back into the playoffs.