SEATTLE — Those big 3-point shots sophomore Elston Turner buried during the course of an NCAA tournament win over Marquette were supposed to be the beginning of something special for Turner and the University of Washington men’s basketball program.
Instead, those images will be among the final ones of Turner in a Huskies uniform.
The school announced Thursday that Turner informed coach Lorenzo Romar earlier this week of his intention to transfer. Romar said Thursday afternoon that Turner was “vague” about his reasoning, but added that Turner is leaving on good terms.
“I was surprised but not shocked,” Romar said. “It didn’t blow me away. It wasn’t the first time we ever talked (about the possibility).”
In an interview with KJR radio in Seattle, Turner said he’s leaving on good terms but that “the situations I’m in, I couldn’t really get in a groove and show my all-around game.”
Turner, a 6-foot-5 swingman from the Houston area, was the Huskies’ top 3-point shooter (38 percent) this past season while coming off the bench in all but three games. He looked like a potential replacement for starter Quincy Pondexter, who was a senior last year, but opted instead for a change of scenery.
“The past two years I’ve been labeled as a shooter,” Turner told KJR. “… To get to where I want to be, I felt like I had to move on.”
Turner has yet to pick a new school, but he said he would like to continue playing at the NCAA Division I level — he’ll have to sit out a year at that level — and possibly play somewhere near his hometown.
For Romar, a transfer is nothing new. Two of the four members of Pondexter’s freshman class transferred, and 7-footer Joe Wolfinger went to The Citadel after last season.
“Other than Jon Brockman, I don’t know that there’s anybody who hasn’t talked about it,” Romar said of transferring. “The minute something goes wrong, guys think about it.”
The role of outside shooter should be a relatively easy one to fill because of the number of players coming back. Sophomore Scott Suggs proved to be a reliable 3-point threat off the bench last season, and freshman C.J. Wilcox has four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2009-10.
“Guys in the program will get more of an opportunity now,” Romar said, “and I think they’ll do a fine job.”
The bigger question is what the Huskies will do with Turner’s available scholarship. Having already signed incoming freshman swingman Desmond Simmons and junior-college center Aziz N’diaye, UW is still in the running for at least one big-time recruit in Portland power forward Terrence Jones.
Turner averaged 5.5 points per game last season but made big strides in the postseason. He hit 6 of 11 shots from 3-point range in the Huskies’ three NCAA tournament games, averaging 9.3 points per game.
As of now, Turner and Pondexter are the only members of the 2009-10 Sweet 16 team who won’t return next season.
Romar said Turner will be missed, but the Huskies will adjust.
“If one player is bigger than the program,” he said, “you don’t have much of a program.”
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