St. Joseph's Turner proved, improved
In the Chargers' first game of the year against Prospect at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament, Turner scored 31 points on 13-for-15 shooting and added 15 rebounds and two blocks.
''I was ready to play,'' Turner said.
The smooth 6-6 forward is a beguiling image on the court. He's long and lean and moves gracefully and dramatically. He has many ways to score around the basket, using his length and size to score over smaller players and his speed to move around post players.
Turner averaged 21 points and nine rebounds in leading the Chargers to a 25-5 mark and the Class AA supersectional, where St. Joseph lost to Simeon.
His high school career nearly over, Turner has one final chance to showcase his special gifts. Turner and St. Joseph teammate Demetri McCamey are teammates on the West team in the 43rd annual Roundball Classic.
''It's a great honor to be selected for the game, and to be able to play one final game in front of my friends and family at the United Center is a dream,'' Turner said.
It caps a great high school career that began quietly.
''At the end of my sophomore year, I was brought up to be a practice player, basically,'' Turner said. ''As time went on, as I improved and got better, I went from being a complementary player to the focus of the team, and that [responsibility] was cool.''
Now a sophomore guard at Iowa, St. Joseph alumnus Tony Freeman played in the Roundball Classic two years ago.
''You could see with [Turner and McCamey] that they had the ability to become excellent players,'' Freeman said. ''It was just a matter of them having the discipline and learning coach [Gene] Pingatore's system.''
Turner was introduced to organized basketball as a third-grader, playing with his older brother in Oak Park, where they grew up.
Entering St. Joseph, his body started to fill out, and his basketball skills became apparent.
''When I was a freshman, I was maybe 5-10, 5-11, but by the end of the year, I had my growth spurt, and I was probably 6-2, 6-3,'' he said.
''As great as he's been for us, he'll be even better at Ohio State,'' Pingatore said. ''With us, he's had to play inside, and he won't do that at Ohio State. He could play the [point], a wing, a [shooting] guard or [small] forward.''