Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990 TAG: 9003143071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
No transplant was forthcoming, but Turner seems to be doing fine with his own knees, thank you.
"At the beginning of the season, I think the coaches were too content to keep my numbers as they were last year," said Turner, who averaged 12.1 minutes in 1988-89, "but I wouldn't have been happy with that. I'd gone a long way from where I was as far as my health.
"I had to let them know that not only could I play, but that I could play well again, that I could be one of the five best players. I wanted them to know - and I'm still fighting this to some extent - that they could use me whenever they wanted."
It hasn't been much of a fight, considering Turner has played more than 32 minutes per game this season. If the ACC named a comeback player of the year, Turner might win by acclamation.
When the Cavaliers were picked seventh in the preseason, Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom said that Turner was "the key" to Virginia's season. That the Cavaliers reached the ACC championship game and were invited to the NCAA Tournament is no small testament to Turner's contribution.
Turner's points and rebounds have multiplied in almost direct relation to his playing time - from 4.6 to 12.4 points, and 2.2 to 6.9 rebounds. He ranks third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding.
"At the beginning of the season, it was like a dream come true," Turner, a 6-foot-6 junior, said. "But once the novelty wears off, it becomes routine. You want to get better. I don't want to get 12 points; I want 15. I don't want to be 5-for-10; I want to be 7-for-10."
It seems like normal progress in light of Turner's freshman year, when he averaged 6.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 1987-88. The next fall, however, Turner aggravated an injury to his left knee one week before the season.
"I figured my injury would set me back for a month or so," said Turner, who was said to be UVa's best player during workouts before the 1988-89 season, "but then it became a little longer than a month and, before I knew it, the whole season had passed by."
One consolation for Turner was the way the team performed. The Cavaliers tied for second in the ACC, reached the final eight in the NCAAs and finished 22-11 with Matt Blundin at power forward.
It was Blundin's participation in football that gave Turner a greater opportunity this fall, although Turner had started 22 of 31 games as a freshman.
"The public sees it as Matty was the returning starter," Turner said. "What I saw was, I was the returning starter from my first year and the position was up in the air. I was going to get a piece of that. Matty was playing football, but I don't think I got the position by default."
It was hard not to notice Turner when he went 17-of-21 from the field in UVa's first three games, hitting all nine of his shots in the Cavaliers' 87-61 victory over Samford. Turner played 27 minutes, which was more than he had logged in a single game as a sophomore.
Just as significantly, Turner had discarded the "sleeve" that he had used to support his left knee in previous years.
"I wear it when I have to, if I think I need it," said Turner, who has undergone five arthroscopic procedures on his left knee. "It offers support, but I don't know if it's worth it. It made my knee weaker by giving it a brace."
Although he was disappointed with his playing time last season, Turner doesn't know how the situation could have been helped.
"There were times I could have played [more], but there were times when I probably played too much," he said. "I understand the position the coaches were in. I don't blame the coaches at all. I had a lot more bad days than I do this year.
"Playing lame the whole year just wasn't worth it for me. Looking back at it, I wish I'd redshirted last year. I thought about it. I'm sure it popped into [the coaches'] minds. That's a decision [not to redshirt] I made back then and I can live with it."
Turner decided to rest his knee after the season, but was back playing basketball after a week and a half. He eased up in the weeks leading up to the season, however, riding a stationary bike to keep up his conditioning.
"I think the coaches have been really careful to make sure we don't get any unnecessary injuries from overwork [in practice]," Turner said. "I've taken myself out when I've been hurting, but no more than two or three times."
If Turner ever regained his mobility, the UVa coaches knew they could count on a solid rebounder and defender who could make free throws but had never been much of a scorer dating back to his days at North Central High in Indianapolis. As a senior, Turner scored 12.9 points per game but was plagued by back and foot injuries.
"They might have limited my scoring, but not much," he said. "I can't imagine me scoring more than 17 points per game. I didn't have that mentality. I got a big kick out of rebounding and playing defense. I liked stopping somebody from scoring more than scoring."
There was absolutely no reason to believe Turner would develop into a 3-point threat. Through the first four games of this season, he had taken a total of three 3-pointers in his career, missing all three.
Turner made his first 3-pointer late in the Cavaliers' 68-64 loss to Vanderbilt, but he attempted no more than one in any game until he was 1-of-3 in Virginia's 12th game of the year. Since then, he has been a veritable bomber, going 25-of-70 over the past 18 games.
"At the beginning of the summer, I thought I could have range out to 17 or 18 feet," Turner said, "but once I stepped behind that line, it was like being at the free-throw line. It was like something clicked, like the shot was different.
"Early in the season, when I was making 17- and 18-footers with consistency, I got to thinking, `If I can stretch the defense another one or two feet, then what's the big deal?' Also, I got another point for it. I mean, `Whoa.' "
With the departure of Richard Morgan, John Crotty was the only returning UVa player with more than seven 3-pointers.
"Kenny definitely did not have 3-point range when the season started," Holland said. "I think he's shooting more of a set shot, getting a lot more leg into it. We hoped to have him rebounding, playing good defense, scoring points, but with a 17-foot maximum.
"In the preseason, he wasn't anywhere close to what he had been the previous two years. It was really once the season started that he started to play well again. I was concerned because obviously we needed at least one other dependable scorer in order to compete."
Although he is undersized for a power forward at 6-6, Turner is more of a combination forward. Turner and UVa's other forward, sophomore Bryant Stith, are separated by eight rebounds for the season and Stith is 35-of-94 on 3-pointers.
"All last year, when Bryant came in, I came out. And vice versa," Turner said. "I never got a chance to play with one of the best players in the country. Now I can see where he opens up a lot [of opportunities] for the other players."
And you can believe Turner's teammates have the same to say for him.
by CNB