Irish eyes smiling: Turner commits

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When Danny Turner found out his daughter Kaila was being recruited to play basketball at Notre Dame, he couldn't have been happier.

"We're excited about [Irish coach] Muffett McGraw's program," Danny Turner said. "I used to attend her coaching clinic when I was coaching girls, and I was really impressed. ...

"From a parental standpoint, it's a no-brainer."

As it turns out, the same is true from the perspective of his daughter, who is heading into her senior season at Marian Catholic.

On campus last Saturday for an official visit, Turner told McGraw she'll be joining the Irish for the 2009-10 season.

Turner, who averaged 13.4 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.3 rebounds as a junior, will be playing for a coach who has one national title (2001), two Final Four berths and 14 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Just as important, she'll be joining a program that has a 100 percent graduation rate since 1987 for players who complete their eligibility at Notre Dame.

"The academics paralleled the athletics," Danny Turner said. "The structure is parallel to the structure she's used to."

Right now, he said, Kaila is leaning toward studying criminal justice.

One comment from Matt McGraw, the coach's husband, stuck with the elder Turner: "Getting a [Notre Dame] degree is going to open a lot of doors. It's not a four-year plan, it's a 40-year plan."

The short-term scenario, according to Danny Turner, was to settle Kaila's college plans this summer in order to remove that distraction once she heads back to Marian this fall.

The schools recruiting her included many big-time programs from the Big East and ACC, including Syracuse, St. John's and Virginia.

But Notre Dame's proximity to Chicago was just another advantage the Irish had.