Decision coming soon for transfer target Turner

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench into Justin Turner’s recruitment. The former Bowling Green guard hasn’t been able to visit any schools since announcing his intention to graduate and transfer on March 22. Instead, he’s gotten to know suitors through phone calls and FaceTime sessions with coaches and virtual tours of facilities.

“It’s been different,” Turner said. “It’s just something that nobody’s used to. It can be tough to get a feel for what’s really real, because some people go on visits and kind of just commit off their experience, just being at a school and things like that, so when you take that out of the equation you really just kind of gotta bunker down and really research the facts and do your homework and just be realistic about where you’re going and try to find what’s best.”

While the experience has been far from traditional, Turner still feels he has been able to develop bonds with some coaches, to the point that he cut his list to three finalists on Sunday. Those schools are Missouri, Marquette and Iowa State, and Turner has left a return to Bowling Green on the table as well.

He may finalize his decision sooner than later. Turner said he hopes to announce a commitment as soon as this weekend.

“I don’t want to finalize it, because I know things can happen, but I’m going to aim for this weekend,” he said.

A dynamic scorer, the 6-foot-4 Turner would fill a need for Missouri. Turner averaged 18.8 points per game last season and has been named to the all-MAC first team two seasons in a row. For more about how his game would fit in at Missouri, read this.

Turner initially heard from more than 30 coaches when he announced his intention to transfer, but he pared down the list to six schools on March 27. In the absence of visits, he has tried to base his decision largely on his own research, looking at roster construction, how he might fit into each system, and coaching staffs’ track records with graduate transfers. One of his top priorities has been finding a program where he will be utilized.

“You kind of don’t really want to go to a team that just wants you, you kind of want to go to a team that needs you,” Turner said.

Missouri’s pitch to Turner has centered around setting him up for success both on the court and off it. He said the coaching staff sees him as a leader. He was already familiar with assistant coach Cornell Mann, a fellow Detroit native, and he said he has developed a sense of trust with head coach Cuonzo Martin.

“Just going in knowing that I got two coaches that I can trust with my future, that’s big,” Turner said of Martin and Mann.

The Missouri coaches also pointed out the success of graduate transfer Kassius Robertson during the 2017-18 season. Robertson came to Missouri from Canisius and led the Tigers in scoring with 16.3 points per game. Turner said he’s a bit bigger than Robertson, but he sees their games as similar, and the Tiger staff believes he could make a similar impact as a scorer.

“In the past, I saw that they were probably one of the slower teams in the SEC or lower scoring teams in the SEC, so really just that scoring attribute, where I’m still playing defense and really being an all-around player,” he said of Missouri.

Turner originally planned to visit each of his top schools before finalizing his decision, but now that the NCAA has extended its recruiting dead period until May 31, he understands that is unlikely. Still, he feels each coach pursuing him has “put everything out there on the table,” and that’s why he felt comfortable trimming his list to a top three.

Turner seems to have most of the information necessary to make his decision. Asked what more he would like to see before making a commitment, he did say he plans to monitor the direction of each program as players rosters change over the coming weeks.

“Where I can see the direction of the team for the upcoming season,” he said, “things like if this quarantine is still going to get extended, how can I get acclimated or how can I make the transition. So it’ll just be small stuff like that, just trying to get as much detail as possible.”