Jeffrey Steven Turner (born April 9, 1962) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and broadcasting announcer. Turner played ten NBA seasons (1984–1987; 1989–1996), spending time with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

as well as the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. He ended his NBA career with 3,697 career points. Turner was a 6' 9" forward/

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 ...

. After his career ended he spent nine years as a radio color commentator for the Magic. He then served as the head boys basketball coach at

Lake Highland Preparatory School Lake Highland Preparatory School is a private, coeducational school in Orlando, Florida. It was founded as an all-white school in 1970 by the board of a whites-only, Christians-only junior college. This gave white parents a private alternative ...

in Orlando, Florida from to 2005 to 2013, where he compiled a 151-72 record and won the state title in 2013. From 2011 to 2013 he was also a studio analyst for Magic games. In 2013, Turner was named television color commentator for the Magic. Turner starred as a college player for

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. He was selected by the

with the 17th pick of the

1984 NBA Draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

. Turner was a member of the Gold Medal 1984 U.S.

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

basketball team coached by

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all- ...

. The team included

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

and Chris Mullin. Turner also played for the US national team in the

1982 FIBA World Championship The 1982 FIBA World Championship was the 9th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Colombia from 15 to 28 August 1982. Qualification Venues Competing nation ...

, winning the silver medal.

Imposter

On June 4, 2008, the Associated Press reported that Ronnie Craven of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area ...

, had been posing as Turner and using the identity to facilitate sexual encounters with women he met in online chat rooms. His ruse also included the additional falsehood that "Jeff Turner" was employed in the front office of the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

(Turner has never worked for the Sonics). Craven says he has received a cease-and-desist order from a lawyer for the Sonics. Craven said he was embarrassed and would stop lying about his identity.Man admits posing as Sonics employee
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Jeff 1962 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Maine Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Orlando Magic announcers Orlando Magic players Pallacanestro Cantù players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine United States men's national basketball team players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players People from Brandon, Florida Sportspeople from Hillsborough County, Florida 1982 FIBA World Championship players

Imposter

See also

References

External links