There is news on the Gary Flowers and Chris Turner fronts, but it may not exactly be the kind of news Seton Hall fans want to hear.
The 6-foot-8 Flowers plans to spend another year at Chipola (Fla.) College before coming to a Division I program. The 6-5 Turner, meanwhile, has narrowed his list to Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest while eliminating Kentucky.
“(Flowers) is going to come back for another year at Chipola,” Chipola head coach Greg Heiar said Monday morning by phone. “He loves the schools he’s got (offers from), Seton Hall, West Virginia, South Florida. He loves them all, but Gary and I think he needs another year to be ready to go in and impact the Division I level the way he’s capable of impacting it.”
Flowers, who averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds, would then have two years of eligibility at the D-1 level after next year.
Heiar said Flowers was a non-qualifier coming out of high school and needed to make up some coursework. Even though he was enrolled at Oklahoma State as a freshman, he was Clearinghouse-pending, Heiar said.
“He needs the summer classes; he’s not a qualifier,” Heiar said. “He’s a 4-2-4. He’s a non-qualifier coming out of high school. He’ll take classes next year; he needs summer classes to graduate.”
As for Turner, his high school coach, Carlos Wilson of Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, said he’s considering Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest. Wilson emphasized that Turner had not made any verbal commitments that he was aware of
“He was very happy for the interest that Kentucky showed him, but with it being so late in the game, they had a lot of ground to make up in a short time,” Wilson said Monday by phone.
Wilson said Turner had been offered by Seton Hall and East Carolina, but he “wasn’t sure” about Wake Forest. Turner has already visited the first two schools and plans to visit Wake “in the next couple of weeks.”
In the meantime, he is waiting on an SAT score.
“At the moment, he’s focused on getting his scores,” Wilson said. “That’s priority No. 1.”
Turner averaged 26 points this past season. He is a North Carolina native so “East Carolina is his back yard,” Wilson said. “For a kid that’s been up at Winchendon (Mass.) and down in Texas, he’s really longing to be around some familiar faces.”
That said, Wilson said Turner “really, really bonded with the Seton Hall coaching staff.”
Scott Adubato has been the lead recruiter involved.
“Right now, I feel like from my conversations with him, Seton Hall and East Carolina, they’re neck and neck,” Wilson said. “They (Seton Hall) definitely have a chance.”
Wilson added that Melvin Oliver, a 6-11, 290-pound forward from Jackson Elite Christian Academy (Miss.) is also considering Seton Hall.
I have a call into Oliver’s coach and will report back when I learn anything more.
