What can I tell you about Josiah Turner? He played for one season at the University of Arizona, then later signed in 2013 with the National Basketball League of Canada’s Halifax Rainmen. He was later acquired by another team in the NBL, the Summerside Storm, and led the Prince Edward Island crew to the championship finals.
And he has just made himself eligible for the 2013 NBA entry draft.
What a long, strange trip it’s been for the kid.
But even with all that… could he become the first player in NBL Canada history to get drafted by an NBA team? Could he make his way to an NBA roster for the 2013-14 season? The NBL came close last year when Quebec’s Tommy Mitchell (a Siena grad) was signed by the Golden State Warriors, but Mitchell remained with the team’s practice squad and never suited up for a regular-season game.
I wish it could happen for Josiah. He’s gone through a lot.
But the NBA Entry Draft is harder to get into than a Bruce Springsteen concert. The Draft is two rounds; first-round picks end up with lots of money, second-round picks end up with D-League contracts. There is no third round in the NBA Draft.
And Josiah’s journey to Summerside and the NBL finals wasn’t exactly a smooth drive over the Confederation Bridge. He went to several different high schools, signed with Arizona State, de-committed from Arizona State, signed with the University of Arizona, played for one season under Sean Miller, was suspended a couple of times, was dismissed from the Wildcats program, left Arizona, committed to SMU under head coach Larry Brown, then de-committed to SMU and decided to go pro. In April 2012, the 19-year-old he was arrested for driving under the influence, his blood alcohol content a .08. He signed with Albacomp, a basketball team in Hungary, but quit after a few weeks, and later ended up in the NBL. First he signed with the Halifax Rainmen, where he received limited minutes and eventually a release. He then signed with the Summerside Storm, and flourished in his role.
After he declared his eligibility for the NBA draft, Josiah returned to Arizona to accept a plea-bargain deal for his DUI arrest. His sentence? Two days in jail and fines totaling more than $1,500.
On the court, Josiah is a very talented point guard. While with Summerside, Josiah averaged 9.1 points per game, and had 6.3 assists per game. Those numbers increased in the playoffs, where he averaged 13.6 points per game, along with 5.6 assists per contest. And this isn’t against college-age kids. This is against grown men, some of whom have played in the NBA, while others have starred for European pro teams. This isn’t the kind of education where you’re trying to understand the intricacies of a zone defense in the afternoon and studying for your classical literature midterms in the evening. This is the education of playing a professional game against professional ballers.
And in that realm, Josiah certainly has a chance. But the kid has more baggage on him than American Tourister. Does any NBA team in this day and age want to take a chance that what happened in Arizona won’t happen again? Believe me, for every one-and-done kid, every high school phenom that wanted to join the NBA, there’s plenty who have crashed and burned on the hardcourt. For every LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, there’s a Sebastian Telfair or a Kwame Brown or a Korleone Young.
I wish Josiah Turner all the best. If he does get signed by an NBA team, he has the raw talent to be a real role player, a point guard that can be molded into a scoring weapon by the right coach.
The only thing I’m concerned about is the kid’s maturity. And playing in the NBA will destroy anyone who doesn’t at least have their head screwed on properly.
Of course, if his NBA dream doesn’t pan out next year… he’s always welcome to come back to the NBL.
Chuck The Writer 