Pacers Introduce First Round Pick Myles Turner

A day after the NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers introduced Myles Turner to the media for the first time as a Pacer after being selected 11th overall.  The 19-year-old Turner has officially arrived in Indiana. With team president of basketball operations Larry Bird and head coach Frank Vogel on hand, Turner was all smiles with the media.

“Very young, very young player,” Larry Bird said as he introduced Turner, “(but) in the near future, we feel like he’s going to be very special for us.”

Turner showed a lot of heart in his first presser as a Pacer. Having been in New York for the NBA Draft the night before and taking an early flight to Indianapolis. He had little time between the selection and post draft interviews to get his things in order before coming to Indy. In fact he literally went straight from the airport to Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. He may not have had secured a hotel room or a had hot meal before the press conference, but as Indianapolis Star’s Candace Buckner reports he handled it all with class:

"Besides Turner’s skill set as a rim protector who flashes signs of a steady jump shot, he has impressed the Pacers with his poise for situations such as Friday. Certainly Turner wore the look of exhaustion, as his eyes would deaden before each new microphone pushed towards his lips, but he patiently and thoughtfully answered those get-to-know questions. When asked how he spent his morning, Turner casually explained how he “chopped it up” with Bird, coach Frank Vogel and general manager Kevin Pritchard."

Turner has family connections to Indiana and said that he is glad that there are family connection in Ft. Wayne where his mother used to live. Having previously lived with his parents this is truly a liberating experience for Turner who not only is a first round draft but also experiencing life on his own for the first time as well according to Turner’s Agent Andy Miller.  “He’s going to live on his own because he’s going to learn to be a professional, I think he can handle it. I don’t think that’s really in question.”

Pacers.com writer Wheat Hotchkiss also highlighted Turner’s poise in the moment as he answered some more personal questions during the press conference:

"Turner seemed at ease with the media, no matter if the topic was serious or light-hearted.At one point, he gracefully explained how he wore the number 52 in college to honor his middle school friend and teammate Habram Rosario, who passed away from leukemia.At another point, Turner joked about his one year playing football, calling it “the worst year of my life.”“For some reason, the coach decided to put me on the offensive line,” he said, when asked to explain what made it so bad."

After the Press Conference Turner agreed to a live twitter Q&A on social media as well, which can be seen on Pacers.com.  While I won’t spoil it all for you, but he did define his goals for the upcoming season, said he he wants to wear number 33, his excitement to play with Paul George, identified who his favorite Disney princess is and explained his love of Netflix.

Next: Irish Duo Grant and Connaughton: Drafted and Traded