Turner will play hoops at University of Hartford

Turner, a Marin Catholic High grad and the 2005 MCAL basketball player of the year, signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Hartford  on a basketball scholarship. After spending a year at West Valley College in Saratoga, Turner is finally realizing his basketball dream.

"Getting a scholarship (coming out) from anywhere is a great thing," Turner said. "It just shows that all my hard work has paid off."

Last year, Turner had a verbal commitment to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., which doesn't award athletic scholarships. Lafayette assistant coach John Gallagher wanted Turner on his team, but the school's lack of scholarships prevented Turner from attending the school and forced him to West Valley, which Turner says may have been a blessing in disguise.

"Coming out of high school I wasn't physically ready to play D-I," Turner said. "This year I grew into my body and gained some weight. I matured physically."

Turner's coach at MC, Rick Winter, knew that Turner wanted to transfer to a D-I school and wanted to help his former player. On April 14, Hartford hired Dan Leibovitz as its new head basketball coach and Leibovitz in turn hired Gallagher as a top assistant. Gallagher told Leibovitz that Turner should be on the Hawks, so Leibovitz called Winter for more info.

"The first thing Gallagher told him was, 'This guy Turner is the first guy we have to go after,'" Winter said. "Michael is going to be playing for a coach who fully believes he can be an impact player, and that was crucial to Michael's decision to go."

Two weeks ago Hartford offered Turner a scholarship, and after a visit to the school Turner signed. NCAA recruiting rules prevented Gallagher and Leibovitz from commenting on Turner, whose signed letter of intent has not been filed yet.

Turner's inside connection got him a shot at D-I, and one look at the school convinced him it was the right place to be.

"We set up a trip out there to the campus, and I just loved it. It was beautiful and just really nice," Turner said. "The fact that (Leibovitz) came from under John Chaney at

Turner didn't admit it, but Winter says the decision to move east was a hard one for Turner.

"Michael was very wary of going to the East Coast," Winter said. "Once he visited, he realized he loved it. He hasn't had a winter there yet, though. I don't know how he'll react once there's snow on the ground."

Turner has the rest of the summer before he leaves for Connecticut. He'll spend the summer in Marin with his family and friends and will take advantage of his last few months in California, but he won't forget why he's headed back east in the first place.

"I'm going to be working out, getting better for next season," Turner said. "I'm planning to get after it all summer long."

Not that a higher level of basketball will be the only thing Turner prepares for.

"The weather's going to be different, that's for sure. But it's nothing I can't handle," Turner said.

- Redwood High grad John Quine had an up-and-down week for the USF baseball team. Quine pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief against Cal on April 25, giving up five hits and three runs in the Dons win, then gave up four hits and two runs in just 2/3 of an inning a 9-3 loss to San Diego on Sunday. On the season Quine is 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA and three saves in 36 1/3 innings pitched.

- The Marin consortium that is the Sonoma State baseball team met one of its county brethren when the Seawolves hosted San Francisco State on April 25. Former COM catcher Bryan Moore went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Gators in a 3-2. Former COM infielder T.J. Drotleff went 2-for-2 for SSU, and Novato High grad Jason Searle went 0-for-3.

- The Dominican University women's volleyball team has received a signed letter of intent from former all-MCAL player Gabby Pecora of Justin-Siena High in Napa.

1:25 PM - May. 3, 2006 - post comment