Kentucky Basketball: Breaking Down Frontcourt Battle with Myles Turner, Texas

Believe it or not, there were actually some 5-star recruits who went to different schools than Kentucky this year, and now the Wildcats have a golden opportunity to prove to one in particular why that was a mistake.

Kentucky and Texas square off Friday in a clash between two Top 10 teams, but there is more than just a marquee win on the line. Myles Turner was one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2014 class, and the Kentucky frontcourt will look to completely shut him down in much the same way it did Kansas’ Cliff Alexander.

Turner was a 5-star prospect, per 247Sports, and a 6’10” freak athlete who considered Duke, Ohio State and Kansas, among others, before ultimately staying in his home state with the Longhorns.

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

His length, versatility and ability to get out in transition stand out, but he is more than comfortable scoring on the low blocks, hitting from mid-range or getting involved in pick-and-roll scenarios. He can also extend his offensive arsenal to beyond the three-point line and is a force on the defensive end because of his shot-blocking abilities and prowess on the boards.

Turner is working his way into the college game early in the season with 19.8 minutes a night, but you get the idea of how scary he can be if his 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and three blocks a night are projected to 40 minutes of action. 

Turner already made an impact against a solid Connecticut frontcourt and bothered Amida Brimah with his defense in a one-point victory, as Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report and Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports noted:

Turner also announced his presence to the college basketball world against lesser competition earlier in the season, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:

Turner is living up to his recruitment hype in the early going, but he will be up against an unfair collection of talent for the Wildcats in the frontcourt.

Dakari Johnson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress are all future NBA players and will get a crack at containing Turner throughout the game. The Wildcats have bruisers in Johnson, Cauley-Stein and Lee, a freak athlete of their own who can play multiple positions and get out in transition in Poythress and someone who can do a little bit of everything in Towns.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Don’t expect just one guy from such a deep group to be tasked with stopping Turner either.

John Calipari will send multiple players at Turner throughout the game and attempt to wear him down and overwhelm him with the combined size and length of his bigs like he did against Kansas’ Perry Ellis and Alexander.

There is a reason the Jayhawks only scored 40 points in that entire game. The fact that Kentucky eviscerated a fellow Big 12 powerhouse on a neutral floor probably doesn’t have Texas fans feeling great about their matchup, especially since the Jayhawks were completely lost on offense and struggled to get any clean looks at all against the Wildcats’ length and athleticism.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Turner may be special, but so are Alexander and Ellis, and they combined for 3-of-13 shooting from the field.

There are other players on the floor who will help determine the outcome of the game besides just these featured frontcourt pieces. Guard Isaiah Taylor and versatile forward Jonathan Holmes are formidable options for Texas as well, but we still haven’t even mentioned Kentucky’s guards and small forwards, such as Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis.

It may not be fair, but the Wildcats have more talent on their bench at any one given time than fellow Top 10 teams do in their starting lineups.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Texas did win by one point at Connecticut after a crucial three-pointer from Holmes, but playing in Rupp Arena is an entirely different animal. This game is at Kentucky in front of what promises to be a raucous environment. It remains to be seen whether the freshman Turner is completely ready for that.

Despite the talent on the perimeter and off the bench for Kentucky, the matchup between the Wildcats’ frontcourt and Turner and company is still the most intriguing part of this game. Between Turner, Holmes and Connor Lammert, the Longhorns are 13th in the nation in rebounding per game, but the Wildcats are ninth.

The two frontcourts have also propelled the respective defenses, and Kentucky is No. 2 and Texas in No. 4 in Ken Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. The Longhorns may struggle to score in this one, but they can stay in the game with their defensive efforts.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

If there is one team the Wildcats play this year with the length to at least contend with them, it is Texas. However, there is just an overwhelming amount of talent across the entire Kentucky frontcourt as opposed to just a handful of contributors for Texas, and the game is in Lexington.

Turner may be a future star, but he will be going up against an entire collection of future NBA bigs. Sometimes it just isn’t a fair fight. 

Prediction: Kentucky 81, Texas 65

Follow me on Twitter:

Follow @ScottPolacek