Wayne Turner (basketball)

Wayne Keon Turner (born March 22, 1976) is a retired American professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a star point guard for the Kentucky Wildcats during a four-year period in which they won two national titles (1996 and 1998) and lost in the championship game once (1997). He set the NCAA record for games played (which has since been broken) with 151 games in his four-year Kentucky Wildcats career.[1][2]

Wayne Turner
Personal information
Born (1976-03-22) March 22, 1976 (age 48)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolBeaver Country Day School
(Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)
CollegeKentucky (1995–1999)
NBA draft1999: undrafted
Playing career1999–2008
PositionGuard
Number5
Career history
1999Boston Celtics
1999–2000Cincinnati Stuff
2000Harlem Globetrotters
2001Andrea Costa Imola
2002Dakota Wizards
2002–2003Townsville Crocodiles
2005Dakota Wizards
2005–2006Spirou Basket
2006Boston Frenzy
2007–2008New Zealand Breakers
2008East Kentucky Miners
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

During his college career he appeared twice on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. Following his college years he played for the NBA's Boston Celtics and the International Basketball League's Cincinnati Stuff.[3] In 2000, he signed with the Harlem Globetrotters.[4] In 2002, he played for the Dakota Wizards of the Continental Basketball Association and helped the team win the 2002 CBA Championship. Turner rejoined the Wizards in 2005, helping them reach the play-offs. In 2008, he returned to the CBA as a member of the East Kentucky Miners.

Turner also played as an import (non-local) in the Italian team Andrea Costa Imola (September to December 2001),[5] and in the Australasian National Basketball League for the Townsville Crocodiles (2002–03), before his contract was terminated[6] following charges laid in the U.S. after police found an illegally possessed 9mm handgun, loaded with 12 rounds, in his rental car.[1] Turner said the case was eventually dismissed in 2005.[6] He also signed a one-year deal (2007–08) with the NBL's New Zealand Breakers.[7]

In September 2010, he returned to the University of Kentucky to finish his undergraduate degree, and joined the men's basketball staff at his alma mater.[2] Turner was also the Director of Player Development for the men's basketball team at the University of Louisville, working under his former coach Rick Pitino and briefly under David Padgett.

In literature

edit

Wayne Turner is mentioned in Frank X Walker's poem "Death by Basketball," found in his volume of poetry, Affrilachia.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Guard played for two NCAA champions - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
  2. ^ a b Wayne Turner Joins Men's Basketball Staff - Kentucky Wildcats Official Athletic Site
  3. ^ Holtermann, Pete (February 6, 2000). "Stuff 81, Richmond 78". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  4. ^ "Globetrotters sign former Kentucky standout Wayne Turner".
  5. ^ "Legabasket". 195.56.77.208. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Breakers playing smart with imports | Stuff.co.nz
  7. ^ "Basketball: Breakers net NBA player to replace Turner". The New Zealand Herald. November 27, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
edit