Barbara Renee Turner (born June 8, 1984) is a former American professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She acquired US / Turkish dual citizenship while playing in Turkey; her name in Turkish is spelled Bahar Öztürk.

High school

Born and raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Turner played for East Technical High School in Cleveland, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2002 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored thirteen points.

College

In her last NCAA Tournament run, Barbara Turner was unable to get her Connecticut team back to the pinnacle of women's college basketball after helping UConn win NCAA Championships in 2003 and 2004. The Huskies' 2006 Final Four bid fell short in overtime against Duke in the Elite Eight, with Turner unable to play down the stretch because of debilitating cramps.

USA Basketball

Turner was named to the team representing the US at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

. The team lost the opening game to Cuba, then rebounded to win their next five games, including an overtime win against Brazil. They then faced Cuba for the gold medal, falling short 75–64 to take home the silver medal. Turner averaged 5.4 points per game.

College highlights

* 2003 Big East All-Rookie Team * 2004 All-Big East Second Team * 2005 All-Big East Honorable Mention * 2005 Most Outstanding of Big East Tournament * 2005 Big East All-Tournament Team

WNBA career

Turner's dominant postseason - she averaged 22.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament - secured her a spot in the first round of the

2006 WNBA Draft On November 16, 2005, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) held an expansion draft for the Chicago Sky. It was the first expansion draft since the 2000 season, when the WNBA welcomed the Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Indiana Fever, and ...

when Turner was taken 11th overall by the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

. She quickly made the transition from power forward to small forward in the WNBA, starting 9 games as a rookie and appearing in all 34 games during the 2006 season, averaging 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. On May 16, 2007, Turner was waived by the

, and two weeks later she was signed by the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. During the 2007 season, Turner played in 22 games, averaging 4.2 points and 1.9 rebounds. On March 6, 2008, Turner was re-signed by the Comets, then traded to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for

Megan Mahoney Megan Marie Mahoney (born February 13, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. During her 14-year career, Mahoney won the Italian championship three times, in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and the Icelandic championship in 2006. In 20 ...

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European career

*2006 :

Maccabi Ramat A Maccabi or Maccabee ( he, מכבי) is one of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebel warriors who controlled Judea. Maccabi or Maccabee may also refer to: People * Bruce Maccabee, an American optical physicist * Judas Maccabeus or Judah Macc ...

*2006–2007: Fenerbahçe Istanbul *2008–2009:

Tarsus Belediyesi Tarsus may refer to: Biology * Tarsus (skeleton), a cluster of articulating bones in each foot * Tarsus (eyelids), elongated plate of dense connective tissue in each eyelid *The distal segment of an arthropod leg see Arthropod tarsus *The lower ...

*2009–2010:

Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezi ...

*2010–2012:

Kayseri Kaski S.K. Kayseri Basketbol, for sponsorship reasons Bellona Kayseri Basketbol, is a Turkish women's basketball club based in Kayseri, Turkey. The club was founded in 1986. History *2005–2007: TED Kayseri Koleji *2007–2011: Panküp TED Kayseri Kolej ...

*2012–2013:

*2013–2014:

Botaş SK Botaş SK is a sports club based in Ankara. The major branch of the club is the women's basketball, currently performing at the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League. The club also competes in athletics. Botaş is the first Turkish club to ...

*2014

Galatasaray OdeaBank Galatasaray S.K., is a professional basketball team based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. It is a part of the Galatasaray Sports Club. The team competes in the Turkish Basketball Super League and Basketball Champions League. The team has wo ...

, *2014–2015: Orduspor *2015–2018: Hatay BŞB

Vital statistics

*Position: Small Forward *Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) *High School: East Technical High School in

*College: University of Connecticut *Team(s):

2006,

2007, Connecticut Sun 2008

Coaching career

On September 26, 2021, Turner joined the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

coaching staff as a player development coach.

Awards

* Ohio Ms. Basketball (2004) awarded by Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association

University of Connecticut statistics

Notes

External links

WNBA Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Barbara 1984 births Living people Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi basketball players American emigrants to Turkey American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players American people of Turkish descent Basketball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Basketball players from Cleveland Bendigo Spirit players Botaş SK players Fenerbahçe women's basketball players Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Hatay Büyükşehir Belediyesi (women's basketball) players Houston Comets players Houston Rockets assistant coaches Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi women's basketball players Naturalized citizens of Turkey Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Small forwards Turkish people of African-American descent UConn Huskies women's basketball players Pan American Games competitors for the United States United States women's national basketball team players