Pacers Star Myles Turner Hosts DFW Youth Basketball Camp
DALLAS — Indiana Pacers star Myles Turner hosted his annual free two-day basketball camp for local area Dallas Fort-Worth kids at Drive Nation Sports. With a combination of instructional drill stations and competitive 5-on-5 games, it serves as a great opportunity for kids to learn and work on their game.
Turner, who is coming off a career-year, averaging 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 62 games, wants to continue to make a positive impact for local kids.
"For a lot of these kids, man, it's just inspiration," Turner told DallasBasketball.com. "You see us on TV, but they actually see me in person working and whatnot. It does something more, it just makes them really actually believe they can do it a bit more as opposed to just thinking it's more farfetched seeing it on TV.
"I just like to immerse myself and I'm a big kid myself and like enjoy doing the drills with them," Turner explained. "I enjoy having them out here with me. So, it's been good."
Not only does Turner stay present and engaged for each of the four total four hour sessions, he emphasizes parts of the camp to focus on communication and life skills. He talks to the campers about topics ranging from proper nutrition for an athlete to practicing a firm handshake with eye contact.
"I feel like kids get talked down to a lot, especially by their peers and sometimes their loved ones," Turner said. "It's just finding yourself. It's some people, it takes a lifetime to do that, but I'm trying to send a message to these kids just to figure out what they want. … Not what people want for them, what they want to do. They're kids and they're supposed to have fun with the game, but, you know, come out here and just discover yourself, man.
"You're supposed to have fun with the sport and be around these other people or these other kids who are trying to find themselves as well," Turner explained. "I just want to try to create such an enriching environment and just keep people just locked in and focused on the bigger thing."
For the second year, Turner's head coach with the Pacers, Rick Carlisle, attended the camp to show support and speak to campers. Carlisle shared his wisdom from spending nearly 40 years in the NBA between his playing and coaching careers.
"It means a lot, man," Turner said of Carlisle attending. "Because he's a Hall of Fame coach and a basketball savant. When a mind like that, as someone who's won before and has been there, that type of knowledge is valuable to get passed down.
"There's only so much I can see from my own eyes," Turner explained. "So having him here and talking to the kids has them take it a little more serious. I'm glad that I have that support from him and the Pacers organization."
Carlisle was eager to show support again, given how hands-on Turner is with the camp experience despite there being two age groups each lasting for four hours for two full days.
"The thing I think is really special about this is that Myles Turner is completely involved with everything," Carlisle said. "He's on the court running stations. He's playing with kids in competitive games.
"It's not just a basketball camp, it's a life skills mentoring camp as well. He talks a lot about who you are as a person — integrity, confidence, and things that are really important to how you live your life."
With Turner being a DFW native, he grew up watching the Dallas Mavericks and shared some quick thoughts on the team's outlook ahead of the 2023-24 season. Turner, who is friends with Grant Williams off the court, sees the Mavs has having accomplished what he perceives as being a goal of adding frontcourt size at the four and five spot.
"I think their biggest thing was they were trying to get thicker through the four and five position," Turner said. "Grant is always going to play the right away. I like watching Grant play as someone who's a friend off the floor. He's one of those glue guys, or do it all type of guys. It's gonna be fun to follow him.
"I follow him every year and obviously my hometown team and whatnot," Turner explained. "I'll root for their success as long as they're in the other conference."
As far as the Mavs' fit with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, Turner sees the pairing being successful after having the necessary time in training camp to build chemistry and familiarity, as opposed to having to adjust on the fly after a midseason trade.
"Yeah, it's hard bro, because you have two people that are the man, right? I think Kyrie came about it the right way and came in with the notion of like, 'This is Lukas's team. I'm here to help him.' That's a hard thing to do, to humble yourself as a superstar and do stuff like that.
"You're coming to a team where Luka is obviously the man himself, but you know what you're capable of as well," Turner explained. "So, in crunch time when there are 30 seconds left and it's a tied game, it's a matter of who gets the ball? It's those type of questions that are going to be tougher to answer. But, we're all basketball players. We all have a feel for the game and it should work out, man. We'll see."
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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