Will Justin Turner stay or go?

[BGSU33]

If he stays, he’ll likely become BG’s all-time leading scorer, get another crack at MAC Player of the Year and another shot to get BG and himself to the the NCAA Tournament by capturing a MAC Tournament championship. If he leaves, BG will be dealt a massive blow that’s going to really set BG back next year. Something tells me he’s going to leave. I hope I’m wrong.

[BleedOrange]

If he leaves, we have good players to fill his role.

It seems unnatural to think of guys graduating or leaving for the pros as "setbacks". This turnover is the steady state of affairs in college basketball. You reload and keep going. You assess the future by what you have, not by what you lost.

[mbenecke]

It feels unfair for anyone to expect him to come back. However, I think he’s definitely split on that decision right now, especially with the way the season ended. He’s certainly going to declare and go through the pre-draft process to be evaluated like he did last year, but I’m not sure what he’ll do after that.

He certainly deserves all of the accolades that would come with his return, but I won’t hold it against him one bit if he heads out. The program is in better shape now than it was when he showed up, and we’re going to continue that trend. If he comes back, we have to be the team to beat in the MAC, once again.

[gspointer]

He did not have a good year and will not be drafted.

[mbenecke]

He did not have a good year and will not be drafted.

He had a first-team All-MAC year. It's not that he'd even necessarily be drafted, but it really comes down to the value he places on another year here vs. a year in the G-league or overseas making plenty of money.

[BleedOrange]

He did not have a good year and will not be drafted.

He had a first-team All-MAC year. It's not that he'd even necessarily be drafted, but it really comes down to the value he places on another year here vs. a year in the G-league or overseas making plenty of money.

^^^^^ This

[BGSU33]

If he leaves, we have good players to fill his role.

It seems unnatural to think of guys graduating or leaving for the pros as "setbacks". This turnover is the steady state of affairs in college basketball. You reload and keep going. You assess the future by what you have, not by what you lost.

Anytime you lose a decent/good/great player who still has eligibility, it's a loss in one way shape or form. Some much more than others. Guys who matriculate through the normal 4-year cycle are accounted for accordingly. You know when they've exhausted their 4 year that their collegiate career is over. When we lost Ron Lewis to Ohio State, we didn't just plug in someone in or fill the void by committee. It set us back. When Anthony Stacey missed his year with his foot injury, we couldn't offset his absence by what we had on the roster. It set us back. Further, in football when Omar Jacobs, Gehrig Dieter and Roger Lewis all left BG with eligibility remaining, it hurt us. We had no one capable of filling their shoes. We had guys who stepped into those shoes who fell well short of what they were trying to replace. Justin Turner falls into the same category of these other players mentioned. He's a difference maker. If he returns BG is going to be better with him than it will without. If he leaves it will undoubtably set us back. Declaring "next man up" is what you HAVE to do when a loss like that happens, but it's not what you NEED to do when it doesn't. Huge difference between the two scenarios.

[BGSU33]

He did not have a good year and will not be drafted.

He had a first-team All-MAC year. It's not that he'd even necessarily be drafted, but it really comes down to the value he places on another year here vs. a year in the G-league or overseas making plenty of money.

The money players make overseas varies greatly depending on what division/level they play in. You can certainly make good money overseas in an upper division, but you can also make far less than anything deemed lucrative as well. We often hear the examples of good players who go overseas and make some nice bank. What we don't hear about is those who do not. Same goes for the G-League. The base salary is nothing to turn your nose up at, but keep in mind, it's for a 5-month season.

[Globetrotter]

He might just transfer to a power 5.

[BillyLP]

Not trying to be snarky, just genuinely curious: Would they have done all of the senior day honors for JT if he weren't planning on going elsewhere? It seemed like it was driven home pretty frequently that Turner was a senior and was being honored as a senior.

[BleedOrange]

JT is clearly not a candidate to be on a NBA roster next year. He ultimately may make a roster, but his outside shooting and ability to finish are way way off. Too, he's not physical enough and needs to add overall body strength.

I see JT playing oversees or in the G League for a couple years before he's on a the NBA radar.

[Globetrotter]

Id bet he is on Michigan or Michigan State next year.

[TommyG]

I’d say he’s much more likely to grad transfer than come back to BG. Can’t say on G-League or overseas. Most likely would be he’s on a P5 team next year.

[hammb]

I've operated this entire season with the belief that we were likely watching his last, even though I am always hoping to be wrong.

I also think a grad transfer to a P5 school is more likely than going pro. I certainly don't think he's ready to be on an NBA roster, and I think he'd probably prefer to play on a higher level college team than the G-League, but who knows.

Our best bet is that he has goals in mind of getting BG to the NCAA tournament and becoming the school's all time scoring leader. IF he values those things then there is a chance he could return. That has to be the hope for us. Without Justin Turner this past year this team probably was closer to a .500 MAC team. Subtracting Turner along with the other seniors I don't see how this team is anything more than bottom of the MAC barrel next year.

[BGSU33]

I've operated this entire season with the belief that we were likely watching his last, even though I am always hoping to be wrong.

I also think a grad transfer to a P5 school is more likely than going pro. I certainly don't think he's ready to be on an NBA roster, and I think he'd probably prefer to play on a higher level college team than the G-League, but who knows.

Our best bet is that he has goals in mind of getting BG to the NCAA tournament and becoming the school's all time scoring leader. IF he values those things then there is a chance he could return. That has to be the hope for us. Without Justin Turner this past year this team probably was closer to a .500 MAC team. Subtracting Turner along with the other seniors I don't see how this team is anything more than bottom of the MAC barrel next year.

I agree with your points. I too have been under the belief this was his last season, which makes how this season ended that much more painful. Despite having no faith BG was going to actually win the MAC Tournament (because I'm simply convinced it's impossible after seeing BG fail to win it just once in 40 tries), still, this was as good of a team and shot that BG actually had in many years. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think he's going to be back. If he leaves, which I hope like hell he doesn't, I could see him going to a P5 school over going pro - and by pro I don't mean NBA because that's far from an option. But he should be warned if transferring is on his radar. A few years ago we saw Jaaron Simmons go from a MAC Player of the Year candidate to sitting almost the entire season buried on the bench at Michigan as a grad transfer. as for BG's hopes of him returning, not winning the MAC Tournament, not getting to the NCAA Tournament and becoming BG's all-time scoring leader are all dangling in front of him. I would even throw in winning the MAC Player of the Year, which he didn't get the season either. With him next year BG is a contender again, maybe even the favorite again. Without him, not a chance. Please Juice, one more year, then after that, best of luck wherever it takes you.