Josiah Turner is now looking for another shot, somewhere. Photo by Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports
Point guard Josiah Turner, at 20 years old, has had a chance to play for the Arizona Wildcats’ and learn from coach Sean Miller en route to what everyone assumed would be an NBA career.
That didn’t work out, so then he planned to play for legendary coach Larry Brown at SMU. Another great opportunity.
The former five-star recruit changed his mind and turned pro, but then asked out of his deal with his Hungarian team in September after only a few weeks.
And now he has been released from the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada, with coach Rob Spon telling the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, “Josiah just didn’t buy into my system. Josiah wanted to do what Josiah wanted to do.”
Twice suspended at Arizona and eventually dismissed by Miller after last season — later arrested on charges of extreme DUI — Turner keeps blowing through opportunities to get his career and life on track.
He talked to Metro Halifax in October about his immaturity as a freshman at Arizona.
“It was my first year in college and I couldn’t control all the girls and the parties and everything that was going on with that,” Turner said. “I was just a young man.”
Has he learned anything?
“Josiah’s just young. I’d call a set during a timeout I want run and he wouldn’t run it,” Spon said. “… Josiah just didn’t warm up very well. Coming to games, I see him sitting around, I yell and he just gives me attitude.
“During practice and games, it just wasn’t working.”
He was averaging 9.8 points and 3.7 assists for Halifax before being released.
Turner played for two high school teams as a senior, spent one year in college, committed to play for another school but never did, and has already been released by two pro teams.
The basketball vagabond will get another chance, somewhere, but the results will be the same unless he starts to grow up.