Josiah Turner’s basketball playing days over at Sacramento High School
by Javier Morales on Jan. 16, 2011, under SportsRELATED LINK:
>> Arizona’s Class of 2011 power-forward signee Sidiki Johnson eases his way back with Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy after missing the team’s first 16 games with a hairline stress fracture in his foot.
Arizona high-profile Class of 2011 recruit Josiah Turner will no longer play basketball at Sacramento High School (Turner photo)
Josiah Turner’s next official basketball game will apparently be with the Arizona Wildcats in November.
The Sacramento Bee is reporting in its Sunday edition that Turner, Arizona’s Class of 2011 high-profile guard recruit, is no longer part of the Sacramento High School basketball team.
Sacramento coach Derek Swafford told the Sacramento Bee that the highly-touted 6-foot-3 propsect — a Five-Star recruit — will remain a student at the Oak Park school.
“Josiah Turner won’t be with the team the rest of the season for violating athletic rules and regulations and team rules and regulations,” Swafford told the newspaper.
“We want him to continue with school and to go to Arizona, and Arizona wants him to remain in school. We want him to do well as a student, but I want to put this basketball thing to rest. I want to make it clear that this was my decision, clearly, and that my administration backed me up. We have to move on.”
Swafford’s comment makes it obvious that Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff have communicated with him and Turner’s mother, Doris Ward, about having Turner continue working toward academic eligibility to attend Arizona. That’s paramount.
Miller and Co. already know how good of a prospect Turner is and how he will impact the Wildcats next season as a point guard. Turner and Ward have been unavailable for comment.
Turner reportedly has missed games and practices recently without permission from Swafford. Ward reportedly met with Swafford on Tuesday to announce that she was pulling her son out Sac High and that he was headed elsewhere. Turner continued to attend classes at the school, however.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the section, of which Sacramento is included, would not grant him playing eligibility elsewhere “as this clearly would have been an athletically motivated transfer.”
The newspaper also reported that Turner’s career has been marked by unrest.
He started on the varsity basketball team as a freshman for coach Bob Jones at Cordova High School then transferred to Sacramento as a sophomore. For eight days at the start of the 2009-10 academic year, Turner attended powerhouse Sheldon High School, “a turn of events that sent shock-wave ripples across the region” the Sacramento Bee reports.
The section, however, did not clear Turner to play for Sheldon as it was considered an athletically motivated transfer. Turner returned to Sac High and played his entire junior season and 10 games this year before the recent unrest.
“If this turns out to be a success story for all of us later, including Josiah, then we can all feel good about it,” Swafford told the Sacramento Bee. “Right now, it’s not a basketball issue for Josiah. It’s remaining in school, being a student, still building character.”
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