By Michael Harris, Times-Picayune Contributing Writer The Times-Picayune
At 6 feet 9, Kahlea Turner is starting to get some looks from college basketball teams, but only starting to get looks.
Elizabeth Davas / The Times-Picyaune Gabe Corchiani (holding trophy) stands with members of the Louisiana Select basketball team. Coach and team won the national title in Memphis.
It will be quite a while before Turner has to decide on a college to attend -- he's only going into the eighth grade at Riverside Academy.
Yes, 6-9, and still growing.
"I've seen all kinds of players, and this kid has some serious ability," said Turner's AAU coach, Gabe Corchiani Jr. "He handles the ball like a guard; he shoots with his back to the basket and runs great. He's improved so much so quickly, for his age 14, he's not a beanpole. He has size. He's very special. There hasn't been a kid like this, in Southeast Louisiana, in a long, long time."
Three weeks ago, Turner and the rest of the Louisiana Select seventh-grade AAU basketball team faced 90 other teams from around the nation and won the AAU national championship in Memphis, Tenn.
"He was 6-foot-7, and he was in sixth grade," Corchiani said. "What I liked about him was he was very aggressive and moved well, I remember him moving down court with this kid on the other team, and he ended up pinning the ball against the backboard. That showed a lot of ability."
If anyone questions what Corchiani knows about basketball, then they don't know the name Corchiani. Gabe was a four-year starting guard at UNO in the late 1980s, and he helped lead the Privateers to the NCAA Tournament, where they scored an 83-79 first-round victory over Brigham Young.
Corchiani's younger brother, Chris, played at North Carolina State in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was a first-round draft choice of the Orlando Magic in 1991. He would later play for the Boston Celtics.
Both Corchianis played at Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School in Florida and were coached by their father, Gabe Sr., who guided Hialeah-Miami Lakes to the Class 4A title in 1986.
"My brother and myself attribute all our talents and everything to my father. He won (the state title), and his teams were always right there," Corchiani said. "I remember Jim Valvano came down when he was recruiting my brother, and they started moving furniture around to simulate plays. He just loved basketball."
Corchiani now is taking Turner and seven other kids under his wing just like his father.
But it didn't always appear to be going that way.
Corchiani was happy going about his business as president of AMA Distributors in Metairie when one of his sons, Michael, wanted to get into the "true" family business of basketball.
"He asked if he could play and if I could coach an AAU team," Corchiani said. "I love coaching this team. These kids are all like brothers and want to stay together. They have so much potential."
That was two years ago, and Michael has become a bit of a star as well. He, Turner and Malik Crowfield were the leading scorers in the AAU championship game -- a 50-41 win over Georgia.
Gabe Corchiani now enjoys being the coach and taking the team to tournaments. Corchiani's wife, Karen, and his two other sons and daughter also travel with the team to cities like Memphis, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Baltimore.
"Baltimore was the best," Turner said. "We stayed in a fancy hotel and got to see some NBA players."
If Turner is to achieve that dream of playing in the NBA, college or even to continue playing at Riverside, Corchiani said there's plenty of work to do on Turner's game.
Turner agrees he needs to work on things.
"Always can be better," he said. "I have to improve on free throws, well ... everything basically. I'm strong down low, the post."
Of course he's strong in the post -- he's 6-9 and towers over other kids his age. It has to be an advantage.
"It doesn't matter about the size," Turner said. "It matters about the heart."
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment