Josiah Turner misses game to take SAT
by Javier Morales on Dec. 15, 2010, under Sports
Arizona's Class of 2011 signee Josiah Turner of Sacramento High School sacrificed a showdown with a crosstown rival Saturday to take the SAT test
Over at WILDABOUTAZCATS.com: Our partner site offers three videos of UA’s class of 2012 commit Grant Jerrett of LaVerne (Calif.) Lutheran
Arizona Class of 2011 signee Josiah Turner, a 5-star recruit out of Sacramento (Calif.) High School, missed a much-anticipated showdown with a crosstown rival over the weekend.
Turner’s Dragons team played Richmond High School, which features Class of 2012 standout point guard Dominic Artis, in the 57th annual Gridley Invitational championship on Saturday.
Sacramento coach Derek Swafford said Turner missed the game because he was scheduled to take the SAT that day. Without Turner, the Dragons lost 73-45.
“With Josiah, it’s a close game, maybe one or two points either way,” Swafford told the Sacramento Bee. “Instead, they took advantage of my young ones.”
Sacramento sophomore guards Aaron Cameron and De’von Boyd played significant minutes against Richmond, the 2008-09 CIF Division IV state champion and last season’s D-IV NorCal runner-up.
Turner had 24 points and seven rebounds in Sacramento’s 72-57 win over El Cerrito in Thursday’s opener, and 22 points and seven assists in Friday’s second-round game which the Dragons won 79-61 over Burbank.
Artis, who had 27 points and four steals against Sacramento, was named the Outstanding Player of the Tournament. He is being recruited by a number of Pac-10 schools, most notably Stanford, Oregon and Washington State.
Turner and junior forward Erik Kinney (34 points and 33 rebounds in three games) were named all-tournament for the Dragons.
Sacramento hosts the St. Hope Classic this week. The Dragons open at 9 p.m. (Tucson time) Thursday against Hiram Johnson.
Turner’s future Arizona backcourt mate Nick Johnson of Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep will play in a nationally televised game on ESPN Thursday against Houston Yates. The game tips off at 7 p.m. Tucson time.
Yates, coached by Greg Wise, father of Nic and Dondre Wise, is riding a 66-game winning streak. Former UA wing player Jawann McClellan is an assistant coach with Yates.
Yates routed Davis High of Houston 126-45 last Tuesday for its 65th consecutive win before coming back Saturday from a third-quarter deficit to beat Madison 101-86. Yates trailed at halftime.
“I was actually really excited at that point,” Greg Wise told the Houston Chronicle. “Because our boys were being pushed by a talented team.”
Arizona’s third Class of 2011 signee — Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill forward Sidiki Johnson — is rehabilitating his way back from a hairline stress fracture in his foot. He will not participate with Oak Hill in the Iolani Prep Classic, which starts Thursday in Honolulu.
The earliest Sidiki Johnson could return is Jan. 15 in a Martin Luther King Day nationally televised game on ESPNU against Milton (Ga.) High School in Springfield, Mass.
