AN EDGWARE teenager has his sights set on the NBA after a successful first year on a basketball scholarship with a school in the US.

16-year-old Theo Turner, of Penniwell Close, was named Orme School of Arizona's Most Valuable Player in his debut season in the US and has been called a “natural athlete” by his coaches.

He was first spotted while playing on tour in Oregon for the Barnet Bulldogs.

After a further scouting session Theo was invited to an hour-long interview for the four-year scholarship to Orme, which is worth almost £90,000.

Speaking in a slight American accent – to the mock horror of his mum, Melanie, he said: "It was kind of fun, actually.

“I just tried to be myself. They told me that day that I'd got it. They also said I was the only one to wear a suit."

Theo has been in the US since August last year, even missing the birth of his younger brother Michael.

He has now begun looking at universities across the Atlantic.

"I visited UCLA, which was great, but I also like Arizona State," he said.

But Ms Turner is sanguine about the prospects of losing her son for another year.

“With kids you can't be pushy,” she said. “But you've just got to give them as much support as possible."

Fortunately for the Turners, this Christmas Theo will reunite with Melanie and Michael, along with sisters Chloe, 12, and Ellie, six, as his school allows him a first flight home to Edgware during the school year.