Myles Turner: 'I'm not going to disappoint'

The first day in Myles Turner’s NBA career was an exciting one. He guarded Ian Mahinmi in the Indiana Pacers’ first practice of the season. He smiled throughout and he tried to keep up with the communication between coach Frank Vogel and his teammates.

The only part Turner did not participate in was the conditioning drill at the end of practice. Turner, though, said he was glad to be on the court with his teammates. He also noticed how he and the other rookies, Joe Young, C.J. Fair and Rakeem Christmas, were being pushed around by Mahinmi, who is expected to be the starting center.

“They were banging us around a lot,” Turner said of his older teammates. “When you have a big guy like Ian Mahinmi who is big and strong, there’s a lot of bodies being thrown around.”

Many of the Pacers are eager to see how Turner develops throughout the season. Perhaps the most surprising comment to come out of Monday’s media day was team president Larry Bird’s assessment that Turner, a 6-foot-11 center, is “probably the best shooter on the team.”

“It feels great, especially for a great shooter like himself to compliment me in that aspect,” Turner said when learning of Bird’s comments. “I work on my shot a lot and I work on it every day. It’s one thing that’s carried me through really to here, throughout my entire journey. Just to hear that is amazing. I’m not going to disappoint.”

Even after Bird said Turner was an exceptional shooter, he did not back down when reporters — and IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel — asked him to clarify his original statement.

“He’s better than a lot of our 3-point shooters,” Bird said Monday. “Put it this way: I think he’s our best shooter, but (I know) he’s as good as anyone we’ve got. And he’s 7 foot. He’s excellent.”

Turner displayed his smooth shooting stroke during the NBA’s Summer League in Orlando in July. He averaged 18.7 points and shot 60.5 percent in three games. In college at Texas, he was named the Big 12 Conference freshman of the year after averaging 10.1 points in 34 games.

On Tuesday, Turner said his main goal in training camp is to learn his role in the offense and get comfortable on the court with his teammates.

He also said he will not be afraid to show is range.

“I think I can step out to the NBA 3, especially the corner 3s,” he said. “Coach Vogel doesn’t mind me shooting 3s, but he just wants them to not be forced threes and be in the flow of the offense. I’m pretty sure he’d much rather have me go down in the paint and exploit mismatches.”

Yet for all the talk of Turner’s shooting ability, Paul George was quick to remind the rookie that he will not score many points if he is not able to excel at the smaller aspects of the offense.

“He’s got to be a good screener,” George said. “We’ve been in his ear on how he separates and comes off screens. It’s going to dictate how he progresses offensively. He’s not going to get open and get good looks if he’s not setting good screens.”

Pacers’ practice court renamed

The Pacers and Teachers Credit Union announced a new initiative in its partnership during a brief new conference Tuesday following the team’s practice. With the new agreement, the Pacers’ and Fever’s practice court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse is now called TCU Court.

“Teachers are the most important people in the world,” Jim Morris, a vice chairman with the Pacers. He added of the court’s new name: “This is a teaching environment and a learning environment.”

The two organizations will create a free program for Indiana high school teachers to teach students financial responsibility. Rakeem Christmas will be the Pacers representative for the program.

Call Star reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.