Melvin Harrison Turpin (December 28, 1960 – July 8, 2010) was an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player. He played five seasons in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA). He was an
All-American college player at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
, where as a senior he led the Wildcats to the
1984 Final Four.
Basketball career
A 6'11"
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
, Turpin was born in
Lexington, Kentucky and attended
Fork Union Military Academy
Fork Union Military Academy (abbreviated as FUMA) is a private, all-male, college preparatory military boarding school located in Fork Union, Virginia. Founded in 1898, Fork Union is considered one of the premier military boarding academies in th ...
in
Fork Union, Virginia
Fork Union is an unincorporated community in southern Fluvanna County, Virginia, along U.S. Highway 15. Its ZIP code is 23055; the population within that ZIP code was 1148 according to the 2000 Census. It is known mainly as the home of Fork Uni ...
from 1979–80. He was FUMA's most valuable player for the
postgraduate
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and ...
squad under coach Fletcher Arritt, also being voted the number one player in the state for varsity basketball; he averaged 19 points, 12
rebounds
'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...
and six
blocked shots
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...
, being inducted into the Fork Union Military Academy Hall of Fame in 2000.
At the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
, Turpin made the 1st Team All-SEC for 1982 and 1983 and was a starter for the
NCAA Final Four Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
team in 1983–84. In 1984, he was the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
scoring leader, holding the record for the most field goals made in SEC tournament play in addition to co-holding the honor of the most points scored in a single tournament game. Turpin scored 42 points in a game against
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
as a junior, making 18 of 22 shots from the field; he similarly dominated
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
as a senior, shooting 15 of 17 from the floor and five of six from the
free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...
line.
In
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, Turpin was chosen as the sixth overall pick in the first round by the
Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
in the
NBA draft, being immediately traded to the
Cleveland Cavaliers. As a professional, however, he struggled with his weight, and after six seasons with the Cavaliers, the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
,
CAI Zaragoza
Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is th ...
and the Bullets, he retired. Earning the derisive nicknames "Dinner Bell Mel" and "The Mealman", Turpin was considered one of the biggest busts in a draft class that included future greats such as
Hakeem Olajuwon,
Michael Jordan,
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...
and
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...
. In a 2004
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
article, Turpin quipped, "In my day, they thought the big man was supposed to be thin. They didn't know too much. It was medieval".
[Lost & Found]
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
, July 12, 2004
During his
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
spell, 361
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
games brought him averages of 8 points and nearly 5 rebounds. In 1988–89, before his last season altogether, he played in Spain with
CAI Zaragoza
Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is th ...
, later being exchanged to the Jazz for
José Ortiz.
Death
During the 2000s, Turpin worked as a security guard.
[ On July 8, 2010, he committed suicide in his Lexington home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The reason for his suicide was never determined, and it was never made public if he left a suicide note. He was 49 years old at the time of his death.Coroner: Turpin committed suicide]
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, July 9, 2010
References
External links
Stats at BasketballReference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, Melvin
1960 births
2010 suicides
African-American basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Lexington, Kentucky
Bryan Station High School alumni
CB Zaragoza players
Centers (basketball)
Cleveland Cavaliers players
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
Suicides by firearm in Kentucky
Utah Jazz players
Washington Bullets draft picks
Washington Bullets players
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people