Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 2, 1993 TAG: 9307020115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Turner, a 6-foot-5 guard from Charlottesville, was one of the star players for St. John's at Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md., during the 1992-93 season.
Turner's father, Rick, said he notified St. John's coach Stu Vetter of the decision in a letter mailed Thursday.
"It's [St. John] a great basketball situation," said Rick Turner, dean of Afro-American Affairs at the University of Virginia, "but the living situation was not conducive to my son's growth and development."
The Turners were particularly uncomfortable with an arrangement under which some of the basketball players lived at Vetter's home and cooked their own meals.
"Players come and players go," Vetter said, "but I'll have to wait and see the letter before I have any comment."
Tarik Turner, named the outstanding player during the recent Five-Star Camp at Hampden-Sydney College, had transferred to St. John's from Charlottesville High School after his sophomore year.
"I put myself at blame for not asking more questions about the living situation," Rick Turner said. "I guess I was so enthralled with the basketball that it didn't occur to me."
Vetter just completed his first year at St. John's after operating nationally ranked programs at Flint Hill Prep in Vienna and Harker Prep in Potomac, Md.
"I owe a lot of the problems to the newness of the situation," Rick Turner said. "I expect a lot. I expect instant organization. You only go around once. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't do it."
Oak Hill was one of the schools the Turner family considered when Tarik left Charlottesville; however, Oak Hill had a pair of senior guards in Jeff McInnis and Jermaine Smith.
"I felt loyal to those kids," Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. "Jeff had been our starting point guard as a junior. If Tarik wanted to come here, I told him it would be better to leave after his sophomore year."
At Oak Hill, Turner will join a team that was 36-0 last season and was ranked anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 in the country.
"One of the nice things about Steve Smith is, I don't think you'll find a more honest person," Rick Turner said. "I feel very comfortable with the situation. . . .
"I would recommend a situation where a player lives with a family, but not the coach. Last year was very, very trying for me. At last I can relax."
At St. John's, Turner played alongside Curtis Staples, a junior who transferred from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke. There has been no indication from Staples' family of a change in his status.
by CNB