Meet the Emerging Talent, Myles Turner

Last Monday night, the 6-foot-11 Indiana Pacers rookie set Twitter ablaze with his ferocious block of Lebron James. 

Who exactly is Myles Turner? Here is a player that has been thrust into the starting lineup for Indiana and has been an instant impact. Yet, most likely, you haven't heard from him before the block of Lebron James. However, Turner has had an astounding two weeks. Two weeks in which he scored 31 points against the reigning champs, the Golden State Warriors and delivered a clutch, highlight reel block on one of the most prominent players in the game. 

Here is what Turner had to say about his block on Lebron James:

"I saw [LeBron's] man got beat and I was like, 'All right, screw it,'" Turner told ESPN.com on Tuesday. "There's no way I can just let him dunk it. It was a close game and a momentum-swinging play, so I just went up, hoped for the best and I happened to end up on the right side of things." 

Here is a look at the block in case you missed it.

Turner has come along way. Everyone has their own story on how they made it big, but Turner's was special. Turner grew up in a Dallas suburb that lived and breathed football. Being the athlete that he was, Turner tried out for the football team but was not cut out for the physicality and brutal nature of the sport. Myle's Dad, David Turner, had his son try baseball.

Baseball also didn't turn out well; one of his coaches told him he would never become anything special. That was just fuel to the fire for Turner. He focused all his energy and skills into the game of basketball.

Turner's parents struggled mightily trying to get their son into AAU tournaments out of high-school. The daily struggle was enough, but Turner breaking his ankle as a sophomore proved to be the breaking point for the young man. Questions arose as too whether Turner really wanted to continue the daily grind needed to produce on the court.

Turner didn't quit. It was his parents who kept him in check and helped him throughout his 6-month rehab. The hard work paid off and Myles Turner had quickly risen to the level of a 5-star recruit.

As a senior, Turner averaged 18.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 6.8 blocks a game. The obvious phone calls came. The likes of John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim all wanted their hands on Turner. Yet, he elected to stay close to home and play for the Texas Longhorns, the team he grew up rooting for.

Turner went on to have a terrific career at Texas, being voted the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. He was ultimately drafted 11th overall by Indiana this past summer.

Turner remembers the hard work it took to get him to this level. His confidence continues to grow now starting for the Pacers.  On January 17th, Turner scored 25 points in just 29 minutes. Ever since that game in Denver, Turner has taken off. He followed up that preformance with scoring games of 15, 31, 11 and 16.

The ceiling just keeps getting higher for the youngster. How high can it get? The rookie of the year candidates have already been set. Can Turner make a late push for the award? Watch your back rooks, Turner is coming.