April 10, 2002
Leandro Garcia-Morales of Miami-Dade Community College and Kevin Turner of Fullerton College have signed a national letters-of-intent to play college basketball at Texas A&M, Aggies coach Melvin Watkins said Wednesday.
Garcia-Morales, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in the National Junior College Athletic Association in scoring (7th, 22.9), assists (5th, 9.0) and steals (10th, 3.6). He also ranked 13th in free throw percentage (.858) and was named to the All-Region VIII team by the NJCAA.
Garcia-Morales led the Sharks to a 20-11 record and second place in the Southern Conference of Florida Community Colleges. Rated as the No. 6 junior college prospect in the country by recruiting analyst Rick Ball, he was also recruited by Miami (Fla.), North Carolina State, Florida International, Utah, Southern California, Kansas State, Xavier, San Diego State and Auburn.
A native of Uruguay, Garcia-Morales played his freshman season at Lynn University (Fla.), where he earned NCAA Division II honorable mention All-America honors and All-Freshman Team honors after averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 assists and making 80.8 percent from the free throw line.
"Leandro helps fill our need at point guard, where we struggled last season," Watkins said. "He is an excellent floor general who can run a team, but he also has the ability to shoot the basketball."
Turner, a 6-2 shooting guard, ranked seventh in California in scoring (22.5) and led the Orange Empire Conference in scoring in league games (23.9). He also led the conference in three-point percentage in league play, connecting on 53.9 percent (41-76). For the season, he made 41.8 percent (82-196) from three-point range. Turner also led the conference in free throw percentage (.881) in league play.
Turner was named to the California Community College All-State team and finished his career ranked No. 6 on Fullerton College's career scoring chart with 1.170 points in two seasons.
Turner led the team in scoring in 18 of its 31 games, chalking up eight 30-point games, including a career-high 38-point effort against East Los Angeles. He connecting on 9-of-10 three-pointers in a 34-point effort against Golden West. He also was recruited by New Mexico and Creighton, among others.
Turner's father, Bill Turner, played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (1967-73) for the Golden State Warriors, Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
"Kevin adds depth to our perimeter game," Watkins said. "He's a big-time shooter who we think will help fill our void in perimeter scoring. We expect both Leandro and Kevin to come in and play right away."
Garcia-Morales and Turner join Watkins' November early signing class that was ranked No. 22 nationally by ESPN.com. Watkins earlier signed freshman forwards Antoine Wright (6-7) of Lawrence Academy and Luis Clemente (6-8) of Maine Central Institute.
2001-02 TEXAS A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITS
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Exp. Hometown (High School/College)
*Luis Clemente F 6-8 225 Fr-HS Pittsfield, Maine (Maine Central Institute)
Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 185 Jr-TR Miami, Fla. (Miami-Dade CC)
Kevin Turner G 6-2 175 Jr-TR Diamond Bar, Calif. (Diamond Bar/Fullerton College)
*Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 195 Fr-HS San Bernardino, Calif. (Lawrence Academy [Groton, Mass.])
* signed during early period in November