Pacers Notebook From Media Day

Myles Turner is just 19 years old, barely averaged 10 points in his only college season and is listed at 6-11. Some say he's a 7-footer. But the rookie who has yet to put on a Pacers uniform for anything other than having his picture taken already has achieved an unusual status in Pacers president Larry Bird's educated opinion.

"He's probably our best shooter on the team," Bird said Monday. "He's a dead-eye shooter, he's big ... I've got high expectations for the young man."

The Pacers' first-round draft pick averaged 18.7 points on 60.5 percent shooting and 8.3 rebounds in Summer League play in Orlando in July, and continued to shoot well in fullcourt scrimmages with his future teammates the past couple of weeks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Veteran Ian Mahinmi is figured as the likely starting center when the season opens, but training camp and the pre-season games will determine that. Turner isn't counting on earning a starting position, but isn't conceding it, either.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely going out there trying to get that starting position, but I'm approaching it as I need to go out here and learn as quickly as possible," he said. "It's not like my No. 1 goal is, 'Oh my God, I need to start.' I need to find my role on this team."

Turner is often compared to LaMarcus Aldridge, another 6-11 former University of Texas player, who signed a free agent contract with San Antonio over the summer that will pay him nearly $20 million next season. Meaning, he is effective posting up around the basket, but can step out and score from the perimeter as well.

Turner doesn't know Aldridge, but was shown a lot of video of him by former Texas coach Rick Barnes, and doesn't argue with the comparison. Neither does Paul George.

"He's very mature for his age," George said. "That's going to go a long way. The game comes easy, comes natural for him. I know what a center is defensively. I played with an all-star center (Roy Hibbert). I see a bright future for this kid. If he doesn't pan out great, it's my fault. That's how I'm looking at it."

Bird, who made the decision to select Turner with the 11th overall pick in this year's draft, expects Turner to play immediately, whether he starts or not.

"He's going to get knocked around a little bit," Bird said. "But he's skilled. He's got a lot of talent. It's going to be interesting to see how he develops. We need him, and we need him to play well right away. Not that we're going to throw him out there for 30 minutes.

"We'll see how his motor is when he gets going. In college he'd get tired and they had to take him out. I see a little of that here; we'll have to see how it goes in training camp."

Joe Young referred to Bird as "Coach Bird" on Monday. That's either a rookie slip or an indication of the respect Young has for the Pacers' president.

Bird said he avoids offering too much instruction to players, but steps in now and then to make a point. He gave the examples of taking newly-acquired forward Glenn Robinson III aside to point out a few things, and keeping the scrimmages from veering off into playground games.

"I don't like to watch the guys go in there and yell and scream and not get up and down the court, so every once in awhile I pull them in together and say, 'Hey that's not what we're here for,'" Bird said. "I don't talk to players every day about their games. But I will tell Joe he has a habit of getting hung up on picks at times. He's quicker than that, and if he's going to play in this league he has to do a better job of that. He will."

Solomon Hill's summer?

"Just shooting," he said. "Shooting and just playing basketball. Setting screens, picking and popping. A little bit of everything, because things can change in a hurry."

Hill knows that from experience. After hardly playing as a rookie two seasons ago, he started 78 games last season after George broke his leg. He'll likely go back to a reserve role this season, which is fine with him, but he'll have to fight to keep a place in the playing rotation. More competition has arrived at small forward from the likes Budinger and Glenn Robinson III.

Hill will need to shoot well to keep his spot. He hit just .396 from the field last season as he adjusted to playing starter minutes (29 per game) against better competition. He did improve his three-point percentage, from .304 as a rookie to .324 last season, but shot poorly in limited Summer League play.

He took instruction from shooting coach Hal Wissel, who also worked with Robinson, and believes he's improved.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Hill said. "It feels good.

"My goal is to get into the position where I'm not thinking about what's going to happen. I want to define my role here. Maybe one day be a starter. I'm cool with anything I have going for me and will make the most of it."

A lot has changed for Rodney Stuckey since coming to the Pacers a year ago. He has the security of a three-year contract after rejuvenating his career on a one-year deal last season. He's married. And he's lighter, having dropped nearly 10 pounds from an improved diet and an enhanced running regimen.

He plans to maintain the approach that worked for him last season, when, in his eighth NBA season, he hit a career-best 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line. He had hit just 27 percent of his three-pointers the previous season with Detroit.

"I came in with the same mindset," he said. "Be focused, be a professional. A couple things have changed, but I'm still going to come in work hard and be the same person I was."

Stuckey's improved shooting last season was mostly the result of the extra work he put in after practice, at the urging of assistant coach Nate McMillan. He lost his shooting partner, though, when Damjan Rudez was traded to Minnesota in the off-season for Budinger.

He's confident he'll find a replacement.

"No question," he said. "I have a lot of rookies on my squad. I can take them aside and make them part of my program."

Stuckey spent the summer in his hometown, Seattle, where he played with local college players and trained. His wife has a running background, so he hit the road with her part of the time. That, and avoiding junk food got his weight down to 208 and his body fat to seven percent.

"The body feels good," he said. "I feel light."

Ask around who impressed most in the scrimmages at the Fieldhouse the past couple of weeks, and Chase Budinger's name keeps coming up.

George heaped praise on him last week, and coach Frank Vogel was among those who piled on Monday.

"Chase Budinger is great," Vogel said, estimating he's hit 60-70 percent of his three-pointers in the scrimmages.

"Trying to be a running team, he's going to be one of our best runners. Every time we got possession (in a pickup game), he was gone. He's really going to help our running game."

George Hill took up his teammates' dare and reported to camp with bright blond hair. He had dyed it at the start of the summer, but gradually let it fade. Told by a few teammates he wouldn't report to media day with that look, he had it re-dyed four days ago. "They were shocked," he said. "I had to prove them wrong. Blondes have more fun." He said he plans to keep the look throughout the season ... Vogel said only two players have injury concerns, and they are minor. Turner and fellow rookie Rakeem Christmas have some soreness that might limit their activity slightly ... Vogel plans to use a 10-man rotation this season, but still will have difficulty keeping some players on the bench. "I think there are going to be some guys who deserve minutes who aren't going to get minutes," he said. "I'm excited about the guys beyond one through 10." ... The Pacers open camp with just 17 players, two over the roster limit. Toney Douglas and C.J. Fair have partially guaranteed contracts.