M. K. Turk (May 20, 1942 – December 6, 2013) was an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach and player. A native of Bardwell, Kentucky, Turk played basketball at Carlisle County High School from 1957 to 1960. He was the junior captain and an all-state JUCO player at Copiah-Lincoln Community College from 1960 to 1962. Turk later played for

Livingston University The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston Fe ...

in the now-defunct Alabama Collegiate Conference from 1963 to 1964. He was the lead scorer on his team. Livingston University named him

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and Most Outstanding Athlete. He was also recognized by Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. After his graduation, he was the graduate assistant coach for

from 1964 to 1965. From 1965 to 1967, he coached at Cobb County High School in Cobb County, Georgia. He returned to Livingston University to be the assistant coach from 1967 to 1968. From 1968 to 1974, he was the athletic director and head basketball coach at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. His team was named third in the nation and were Region VII champions in 1973. The

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

named him the Regional Coach of the Year in 1973. He then acted as the assistant basketball coach at Memphis State University from 1974 to 1976. He was head coach of the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

Golden Eagles from 1976 to 1996. In 1986, he was named the

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did n ...

Coach of the Year. He appeared at the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) six times and took the championship in 1987. The same year, he was named the NIT Coach of the Year. He appeared at the

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

in 1990 and 1991. In 1991, the team was ranked among the top 25 college basketball teams in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and Mississippi sportswriters named him Coach of the Year. The team won the Metro Conference Tournament championship in 1995. During his time coaching at Southern Mississippi, his teams accumulated a total of 301 wins and 266 losses, making him the winningest men's basketball coach in the history of the school. In 1981, Turk was inducted to the Livingston University Athletic Hall of Fame, and then to the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1991, he was inducted to the Southern Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2005, Turk was inducted to the

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The hall of fame was established in 1961 and is currently located in a museum that displays the achievements of Mississippi athletes. The museum opened on July 4, 19 ...

. Turk died on December 6, 2013, at the age of 71. He was survived by his wife, Katrina, and their two daughters.

References

External links

Turk coaching stats
1942 births 2013 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball players from Kentucky Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball coaches West Alabama Tigers men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Bardwell, Kentucky American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kentucky {{US-basketball-coach-stub