Ray Turner (basketball)

Early life

Growing up in South Park, Houston without a father and a sick mother, Turner had a rough childhood as he often got into trouble as an adolescent and his grades were not good due to missing a lot of school. Basketball, however, provided a positive outlet for Turner, as did faith in God which was invigorated by Keith Perry, Turner's guardian and father figure. Perry is the founder of the South Park BallCats, a basketball academy where Turner learned as a teen there was more to life than mean streets and familial plight. He also learned that an education via college basketball was a possibility.

High school career

Turner attended South Park's Jesse H. Jones High School where as a junior in 2007–08, he averaged 16.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game for the school's basketball team. As a senior in 2008–09, he averaged 16.5 points and earned district MVP honors in addition to being named to the all-state and all-region teams. He also played in THSCA All-Star Game as a senior and led his team to a 29–7 record and the district title.

College career

After he was initially deemed ineligible to play college basketball by the NCAA to begin the 2009–10 season, Turner began practicing with the Aggies in December 2009 and appeared in the final 20 games of the season off the bench. He averaged 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while averaging just under 10 minutes per appearance. On February 3, 2010, he recorded four points and two offensive rebounds in a win over Missouri, including a slam dunk that made ESPN's top 10 plays list and was voted the Big 12 Play of the Week.

As a sophomore in 2010–11, Turner appeared in 32 games, starting one, and averaged 13.4 minutes, 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He also led the team in blocks and was fifth in rebounds. In his first career start on February 26, 2011, he recorded six points and four rebounds in a loss to Baylor.

As a junior in 2011–12, Turner appeared in all 32 games, starting 16, and averaged 21.6 minutes, 9.1 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game. He was also the team leader in field-goal percentage (118-of-206, 57.3 percent) and ranked second in blocks (14). In the first two games of the season, he had two 20-point outings for the first time in his career, and on December 7, he recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Sam Houston.

As a senior in 2012–13, Turner played all 33 games and started all but one. He averaged 23.4 minutes per game and recorded three double-doubles to give him seven for his career. He also compiled 303 points to finish third on the squad with a 9.2 point per game average, and pulled down 206 rebounds to average 6.2 per contest and give him 536 career boards (20th most in program history). On November 15, he scored a season-high 17 points in a win over Prairie View A&M.

2013–14 season

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Turner spent August and September in Uruguay during the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball pre-season. He spent time with both Atlético Bigua and Atlético Olimpia in the city of Montevideo before ultimately leaving Uruguay before the start of the season. He later moved to Cyprus where he joined Apollon Limassol, but his stint ended in December 2013 after he left the club due to non-payment. In seven games for Apollon, he averaged 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

On February 20, 2014, Turner signed with the Rockhampton Rockets for the 2014 Queensland Basketball League season. Turner dominated the league playing alongside fellow American import Chehales Tapscott, as the Rockets finished the regular season with a 14–2 win/loss record and subsequently by-passed the quarter-finals and straight into the semi-finals due to finishing first on the ladder. After defeating the Ipswich Force 115–97 in their semi-final match-up, the Rockets faced the Mackay Meteors in the best-of-three grand final series. They ended up sweeping the Meteors 2–0 to win back-to-back championships for the first time in club history. Turner was awarded Game 2 MVP honors after recording 31 points and 15 rebounds. In 19 games for the Rockets, he averaged 20.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He was subsequently named in the QBL All-League Team.

2014–15 season

On November 1, 2014, Turner was selected by the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the third round of the 2014 NBA Development League Draft. However, he was later waived by the D-Fenders on November 12 prior to the start of the regular season. On November 29, he signed a tryout contract with Phoenix Hagen of the Basketball Bundesliga. He was later released by Phoenix in December before appearing in a game for them.

In February 2015, Turner returned to Australia, signing with the Perth Redbacks for the 2015 State Basketball League season. On April 27, he recorded 58 points and 26 rebounds in an overtime loss to the Willetton Tigers. On May 15, he recorded his second 50-point game of the season in a loss to the Cockburn Cougars. In the Redbacks' final game of the season on July 25, Turner recorded 38 points and 20 rebounds in a win over the South West Slammers, and subsequently earned Player of the Week honors for a third time. He appeared in all 26 games for the Redbacks and averaged a league-leading 31.2 points, 16.1 rebounds (fourth in the league), 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Despite his great season in which he earned league MVP honors, the Redbacks missed the playoffs with an 11th-place finish and a 10–16 win/loss record.

2015–16 season

On August 24, 2015, Turner joined the Wellington Saints Invitational team for a three-day mini camp before travelling to Taiwan to play in the 2015 William Jones Cup. In the Saints' first game of the tournament against Chinese Taipei B on August 29, Turner recorded 25 points and a game-high 16 rebounds in a 102–85 win. The Saints finished the tournament with a 3–5 win/loss record, and over the eight games, Turner averaged 15.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Turner and the Saints then travelled to the Philippines to play in the MVP Cup against the host nation, Chinese Taipei and a professional Philippines team. The Saints finished the three-day tournament with a 2–1 win/loss record, as Turner averaged 16.3 points over the three games.

On September 14, 2015, Turner moved to Akita, Japan and signed with the Akita Northern Happinets for the 2015–16 bj league season. He made his debut for the Northern Happinets on October 3, recording 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in a win over the Saitama Broncos. On October 10, he recorded a season-high 32 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Gunma Crane Thunders. Over his first seven games for Akita, he averaged 18.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, a stretch that included a game on October 18 against the Sendai 89ers where he recorded a then season-high 20 rebounds. However, over his next six games (October 25 – November 21), his numbers dropped to 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. He picked up his production from that point on, where on December 6, he had his best scoring output since October 11, recording 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Ryukyu Golden Kings. He finished 2015 having played in all 24 games for the Happinets, averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. On January 24, 2016, he competed in the league's Slam Dunk Contest. On February 13, he had a season-best game with 31 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in a season-high 37 minutes of action in a win over the Gunma Crane Thunders. Eight days later, he recorded 26 points and a season-high 21 rebounds in a loss to the Toyama Grouses. On April 24, he had another 31-point game, and with 16 rebounds, he helped the Happinets defeat the Sendai 89ers 100–82, ending the regular season with a 35–17 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Happinets went on to reach the Eastern Conference Final where they were defeated 99–84 by the Toyama Grouses. Turner recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. In 54 games for the Happinets in 2015–16, Turner averaged 15.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

On June 8, 2016, Turner joined the Rockhampton Rockets for the rest of the 2016 Queensland Basketball League season, returning to the club for a second stint. Two days later, he made his season debut for the Rockets, recording 24 points and 14 rebounds in an 82–71 win over the Sunshine Coast Rip. On June 24, he recorded 27 points and 15 rebounds in a 121–108 win over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix Clippers. On July 2, he had a 27-point, 16-rebound effort in a 104–88 win over the South West Metro Pirates. On July 23, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 103–100 loss to the Gladstone Port City Power. In the Rockets' season finale on August 5, Turner recorded 28 points and 14 rebounds in a 116–111 loss to the Ipswich Force. The loss gave the Rockets a 9–8 record for the season, as they missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. In 11 games for the Rockets in 2016, Turner averaged 22.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game.

2016–17 season

On August 10, 2016, Turner signed with Falco KC Szombathely of the Hungarian League. On November 29, he had a season-best game with 14 points and nine rebounds in an 85–69 win over BC Körmend. On December 22, his contract was terminated by Falco in a mutual agreement. In 11 games for Falco, he averaged 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

On February 10, 2017, Turner signed with the Willetton Tigers for the 2017 SBL season, returning to the league for a second stint. After missing the Tigers' first two games of the season due to a knee injury, Turner made his debut for Willetton on April 1 against the Geraldton Buccaneers. In 37 minutes, he recorded 32 points and 20 rebounds in a 95–83 win. On May 6, he recorded 43 points and 24 rebounds in a 120–118 double overtime win over the Cockburn Cougars. He was subsequently named Player of the Week for Round 8. On July 2, he recorded 29 points and 20 rebounds in a 95–94 win over Geraldton. Five days later, he recorded a game-high 34 points and 14 rebounds in a 99–92 win over the South West Slammers. Turner helped the Tigers finish the regular season as minor premiers with a 20–6 record. After defeating the Perry Lakes Hawks 2–1 in the quarter-finals, the Tigers faced the Perth Redbacks in the semi-finals, where they were swept 2–0 despite a 26-point, 13-rebound effort from Turner in a 101–92 Game 2 loss.

Personal

Turner wears No. 35 in honor of good friend and 2010 Aggie signee Tobi Oyedeji, who was killed in a Houston car accident in May 2010.