Arizona's Class of 2011 point guard recruit Josiah Turner is ready to shine at the next level, according to his high school coach (Turner photo)

Before the Masters hits Augusta, Ga., on April 7, Arizona Class of 2011 signee Josiah Turner turned in a green-jacket performance on the basketball court there Saturday.

Turner, a 6-3 point guard who signed with Arizona last November, was selected the MVP of the Inaugural Converse Mo-Mentorship All-Star Classic at Lakeside High School in Augusta. Turner scored 26 points with 13 assists and two steals, leading the Red team over the White 148-117.

The game featured 14 recruits who have signed with Division I teams, including Turner’s Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy teammate Sir Dominique Pointer, a forward who is headed for St. John’s.

QEA coach Isaac Pitts Jr. coached the Red team Saturday and mentioned to me that Turner “showed why he is a top 10 player of his class.” Turner is rated the No. 10 prospect of the Class of 2011 by Rivals.com.

He is the highest rated recruit signed by Sean Miller in his seven years as a head coach.

“Josiah did what he does best, distribute the ball and take good shots,” Pitts said. “It was an all-star game, so it was pretty wide open, and that’s where Josiah is nearly unstoppable.

“He can get his assists as well as anybody. It was an impressive display.”

Turner has one more high school all-star event to compete in — the All-American Championship in Houston on April 3 — but Pitts said his star guard is ready for the next level.

“You’re talking about one of the top 10 players in his class,” he said. “I’m not really sure what else he has to work on. He’s proven himself quite well to this point.

“Coach Miller, I am sure, has some things in mind to have Josiah work on once he gets there, but in my opinion, he’s ready.”

Pitts will coach Turner and Pointer with the South team in the All-American Championship at the M.O. Campbell Center. The game will be played on the Sunday between the Final Four on Saturday and championship game on Monday in Houston.

The addition of San Diego Hoover High School post player Angelo Chol boosts Arizona's Class of 2011 to a potential top five group, according to recruiting analysts (Team USA photo)

NOTE: Updates with quotes from San Diego Hoover High School coach Ollie Goulston.

If Class of 2011 post player Angelo Chol had his way, the Arizona basketball T-shirt he wore to Thursday’s press conference would be all that he needed to convey what program he’ll represent starting next season.

Chol, who announced he will play at Arizona at San Diego Hoover’s auditorium and in front of an Internet audience at KBCSports.com, would rather shy away from all of the attention.

“One of his biggest fears is public speaking,” Hoover coach Ollie Goulston told me via phone after the press conference. “He got the chance to work through that fear today.

“He is very unselfish, very humble.I told him, ‘You either have a press conference and get it out of the way, or expect the media to be calling you every day.’ He did not hesitate to have the press conference.”

Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff, who beat North Carolina, Kansas, Washington and Alabama for the prized recruit, knew of Chol’s intentions 10 minutes before the shot-blocker extraordinaire exposed his Arizona T-shirt for the world to see. Chol personally informed Kansas coach Bill Self and North Carolina coach Roy Williams — the two other finalists for his services — of his decision before contacting Miller.

“He called the coaches himself,” Goulston said. “He’s built some strong relationships with some of them so it was very difficult on him. It was one of those life lessons he had to experience.

“He learned an awful lot and gained a lot of maturity through this process.”

Chol said “Bear Down” at the press conference, when asked about his decision. For Miller and Arizona’s basketball fans, that’s all Chol had to say.

But he later mentioned that the likelihood for playing opportunities and the chance to join the heralded Class of 2011, which includes Rivals.com 5-star recruit Josiah Turner of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy, was a significant reason for his decision.

“I wanted to be in a situation where I can play and have a chance to win a (national) championship,” said Chol. “I feel we will have a good chance with the class coming in.”

A Sudanese refugee, who came to the United States in 2000 after a brief stop in Egypt, Chol is averaging 24.1 points, 14.9 rebounds and 8.0 blocked shots per game this season. In a December win over El Centro (Calif.) Southwest, Chol posted a line of 40 points, 19 rebounds and 15 blocked shots. He is also just 10 points shy of 2,000 for his career.

He has 224 blocked shots this season and 1,078 for his career. He set a single-season national record of 337 as a sophomore.

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Arizona's Class of 2011 point guard recruit Josiah Turner is adapting to being part of Quality Education Academy's 21-4 team (Turner photo)

At our partner site WILDABOUTAZCATS.com: Check out a YouTube video of a thunderous putback slam by Josiah Turner since he joined Quality Education Academy in North Carolina

Less scoring totals is a questionable reason why Josiah Turner and Sacramento High School coach Derek Swafford had a rocky relationship that led to Turner leaving the team and Swafford ultimately forcing him out.

Turner, a high-profile Class of 2011 point guard who has signed a national letter of intent with Arizona, was averaging nearly five points less a game — 22 this season after 27 as a junior — before Swafford dismissed him last month. Turner originally left the team while contemplating his future.

Four games into his stint at Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C., Turner is averaging 15.7 points for a 21-4 team that includes more major-college talent than Sacramento.

Turner is sharing time with Wake Forest-bound Anthony Fields at the point-guard position with QEA. In Saturday’s 89-41 over the Philadelphia (Pa.) Franklin Learning Center in Atlantic City, N.J., Turner and Fields each recorded seven assists. Turner scored 13 points and Fields had five.

The QEA experience is more to Turner’s liking, according to those familiar with his recruitment, because of the exposure to more talent with a high-profile prep program.

The experience is similar to what he’ll get at Arizona, where he will share the responsibilities with talented players who have spent more time within coach Sean Miller‘s system.

In a sense, Turner adapting to QEA, its coach Isaac Pitts, and the established talent already in place this season, is a precursor to him becoming a Wildcat and fitting in with Lamont “MoMo” Jones and Jordin Mayes, for example.

Aside from Fields, QEA’s other major-college prospects are shooting guard Charles McKinney (DePaul commit) and Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s).

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