Super 60 point guard, Josiah Turner, arrived in Lawrence on Friday to take in the sights and sounds of the annual Kansas basketball kick-off celebration, ’Late Night in the Phog.’ Lucky for Turner, who returned to Sacramento (CA) on Saturday, ’Late Night’ at Kansas means around 6:30 central time, and not the more traditional, midnight. Turner made the most of his time in Lawrence and he spoke to TheShiver.com about his visit on Sunday evening.
Round-trip, Turner spent around eight hours in a plane, lost, and then gained, two hours of sleep and had a busy unofficial visit to KU in between. According to Turner the trip was worth it.
“It was good. I mean, it was great,” Turner said of his unofficial visit to Kansas.
Although Turner was expecting a packed house for ‘Late Night in the Phog,’ he wasn’t prepared for how the crowd reacted when he, and the other four recruits who attended the event, took their seats inside the Fieldhouse.
“It was good, and it was a great experience,” Turner said of ‘Late Night.’ “It was wild and I liked the crowd. I was kind of scared, I didn’t know it was going to get that loud,” Turner said of the crowd noise inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Turner wasn’t the only one who was impressed by the annual Kansas basketball kick-off celebration. According to Turner, his parents also enjoyed the atmosphere.
“They were amazed by it too,” said Turner of his parents reactions to ‘Late Night.’
A must-see for any basketball recruit are the new basketball facilities that were completed this year. For Turner, the facilities were certainly impressive.
“It was awesome. The practice facility was great,” said Turner. “What really impressed me was the new lock room. The big Jayhawks in the middle, the codes to open up their lockers, and it had a place you plug your i-Pod up to,” added Turner about the new Kansas basketball digs.
It was inside that new practice facility that Turner had the opportunity to play a little basketball with some members of the current Kansas roster.
“I got to scrimmage for a minute,” said Turner. “It was cool. I like the way they (the current players) run,” added Turner.
The point guard prospect liked what he saw from the Kansas guards.
“Tyshawn Taylor. I like the way he plays,” said Turner. “I like Sherron too, and the way he can shake, and he’s strong,” added Turner.
Aside from ’Late Night,’ and playing pick up basketball, Turner and his parents also spent time touring the campus and checking out some of the academic facilities at KU. The visit certainly has Turner excited about the Jayhawks, so much so, that he is hoping to make it back for a game this coming season.
After decommitting from Arizona State earlier this summer, Turner is just beginning to learn more about other schools who are interested in him. Turner told TheShiver.com last week (article here) that he might also make a trip to USC and UCLA this coming weekend. Turner hasn’t made any other future plans at this time, but he does plan to check out multiple schools before making his college decision.
