Josiah Turner makes pledge to Arizona

By Jason Hickman Sep 20, 2010, 11:40am

Wildcats land second elite guard in last month.

Josiah Turner
Josiah Turner
Photo by David Steutel
Arizona may have landed its next great point guard over the weekend.

Josiah Turner, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior from Sacramento (Calif.), made a verbal commitment to the Wildcats while on his official visit to Tucson, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The program earned the moniker "Point Guard U" under former head coach Lute Olson after producing floor generals like Mike Bibby, Damon Stoudamire and Jason Terry.

"I had a lot of fun here," Turner told the Daily Star via telephone as he was preparing to fly home. "I bonded with everybody. I liked the teammates, the coaches and I got to meet the AD."

Second-year Arizona head coach Sean Miller would love to start his own point guard legacy beginning with the pledge from Turner, the No. 30 prospect in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100.

As a junior, Turner averaged 27.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals for 26-7 Sacramento High School. Over the summer he had a successful run with the Oakland-based Drew Gooden Soldiers, including a title at the prestigious Fab 48 in Las Vegas.

At Arizona, Turner will join Drew Gooden Soldiers teammate Nick Johnson of Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), who committed to Miller and the Wildcats in August. Johnson, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, is rated No. 18 in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100.

Arizona's 2011 class also features Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) forward Sidiki Johnson, another Top 100 talent.