It looks like Josiah Turner will land on his feet.
Or at least get a chance to.
According to Adam Zagoria, Josiah Turner looks like he will be headed to SMU and their new head coach Larry Brown.
“Josiah will land at SMU as long as the recent arrest doesn’t turn coach [Larry] Brown and others off at the University,” a source told Zagoria.
It’s never a good sign when the phrase “most recent arrest” is uttered. The latest instance happened early Sunday morning, as Turner was arrested for “extreme DUI” after blowing a 0.15 and 0.16. This comes after Turner was twice suspended by head coach Sean Miller during the season before eventually being kicked off of the team and asked to transfer out of the program.
But Turner is talented. He’s the kind of talent that, when he’s focused and if he avoids the troubles of his past, can turn around a program like SMU. He has the ability to be an all-conference point guard and an NBA Draft pick.
If he turns it around.
Turner needs a wake-up call, and apparently getting kicked off of the Arizona team wasn’t it. Will getting charged with “extreme DUI” be it? Will leaving the west coast and heading to Dallas be it? Will Brown and his coaching staff -- which now reportedly includes for NBA players Eric Snow and George Lynch -- be able to get through to Turner?
Turner’s getting dangerously close to the point where he runs out of chances. If he flames out at SMU (or whatever school he ends up at), he’s not going to get another chance at the college level. He may get a chance to make the league anyway, but it won’t be immediate. He’ll have to rebuild his reputation by playing his way through the lower levels of pro basketball -- the D-League, Europe, South America.
Renardo Sidney. Lenny Cooke. Ndudi Ebi. Willie Warren. This is not a list you want your name to end up on.
If Turner isn’t careful, his will.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.
