Rick Barnes: The Perimeter Is The Place For Myles Turner

When Texas coach Rick Barnes reeled in the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit, Myles Turner, he answered several questions surrounding the Longhorns’ basketball program. The team was a star caliber player from being a team with realistic championship expectations and Turner brings that.

The same goes for the Big 12 title and dethroning Kansas’ 11 straight regular-season crowns. Also, bringing Turner to Austin boldly states that Texas is still a destination where elite talent can find themselves, and in the case of Turner, he’s the most talented commit since his idol, Kevin Durant.

But just like his role model, Turner could benefit the Longhorns most by playing outside on the wing.

Yes, Turner stands at a towering 7’0”, 240 pounds, which in most cases calls for automatic placement in the post at any level of competitive basketball. But Turner is far from the usual case, as most 7-footers don’t prefer to hover around the perimeter and knock down the long ball, which he does exceptionally well and it just so happens that Texas has a glaring weakness at small forward.

I know it doesn’t seem logical to place a guy of Turner’s stature out on the perimeter, but when you consider what other options Texas has, it actually would result in a higher rate of scoring, rebounding, more overshadowing defense and even further length than the Longhorns will already have.

So how could this work from a roster standpoint?

Well, most assumed once Turner came into town, senior power forward Jonathan Holmes would slide out to the wing and take a bulk of the small forward minutes, allowing Turner and Cameron Ridley to form one of the bulkiest frontcourts in college basketball. In reality, despite standing only 6’8”, Holmes is very stout at 240 pounds, to match Turner’s size.

But Holmes doesn’t possess the skill set Turner will bring along as his shooting touch and ball handling skills are lacking, which has been one of the biggest question marks in discussions of Holmes manning the perimeter. Plus, Holmes’ gritty and feisty play style is tapered towards the paint, where he averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 boards.

This alone would be reason enough for Barnes to give Turner the nod over Holmes, at least to kick the season off, but Holmes isn’t the only option Texas has to play the wing. Demarcus Holland and Martez Walker have both spend their time outside of the paint, while another incoming freshman in Jordan Barnett could be a viable option.

But this is where Turner should still get the upper hand on each; Holland fits better as a slashing shooting guard and tenacious defender, Walker simply isn’t talented enough to find himself in the starting lineup and despite being a solid shooter and explosive leaper, Barnett is highly unlikely to have an immediate impact worthy of stealing minutes from Turner and Holmes.

It’s starting to seem pretty clear why Turner should find himself on the wing now huh? He answers Texas’ scoring and long-range issues, while causing less congestion to a very stacked frontcourt.

He has the ability to hold down the position much better than any of the other options and his star caliber potential, which is something the Longhorns severely need, could be better recognized by allowing Turner to play to his talents.

Considering Texas will begin their season against some competition that is undeniably inferior, it’s definitely something Barnes should look towards trying out and seeing where it goes. Plus, it Turner playing the wing turns out to be the key to his success in Austin, the Longhorns could very well be receiving their keys to Lucas Oil Stadium for a trip to next season’s Final Four.

Start Turner out on the wing coach Barnes. Do it.