Topeka doesn’t have much going for it. While it’s the capitol of Kansas, who ever takes a trip to Topeka? It nevers has it’s standout show or star event to go to. It just like any regular city, stuff happens and nobody notices anybody. Well, Douglas Turner was a bit different. Since he was 8 years old people touted him as the next Vince Carter. He was the showstopper, the kid everybody wanted to be friends with. He got all the girls and all the fame. He was able to dunk since he was 12 and could shoot pro level 3’s with consistency at 15. Every team he played for won the title, and every girl he talked to he smashed. People called him The Man. Well “The Man” didn’t have much work effort. I mean, when Alex tells you directly he wants you at Indiana at age 9 how much effort would you put into anything? He got complacent, and in state nobody noticed. He still was the best basketball player in all of Kansas, because well nobody played good basketball in Kansas.

Topeka HS, Douglass's broadway

Until he wasn’t. Some kid started to shoot up boards as better than Douglas and he didn’t care. He still knew he was better than him, and anybody else. Didn’t really matter to Douglas, he was still “The Man”. Sophomore, he’s the #5 recruit. Still holds offers from all the top schools. In State he still dominated, but in the AAU circuit he was a little bit sluggish. Scouts got worried and he dropped to #9 in the ESPN top 100 and #19 on Rivals.com. People noted that he was more talented than anybody else, but people questioned his work effort and overall love for the game. Still didn’t matter to “The Man”, he was still putting up 33.4 PPG and grabbing 4.6 steals per game. God numbers essentially were everyday, and his girlfriend was seen as a goddess. And then Junior year happens.

The moment that lives in infamy

He held so much hype for this year. He was on the cover of the NCBCA Tribune and would sell out his his high school gym. They would move their games to Washburn University to meet the demands. 1st game of the year and goes up for a contested layup on a center. There is about 4:10 seconds left in the 2nd quarter and their are scouts from all over the nation in attendance. He had 23 points already and his team was up by 21. It just seemed like a normal play for “The Man”, until it wasn’t. Crashes hard and the whole gym went silent. He gets taken to the hospital and people fear he may never walk again.

Life takes unexpected turns

It wasn’t that bad, he just tore his hamstring that sidelines him for most of the season. He comes back with 6 games left in the season and his team needing to win only 2 games to qualify to State Tournament without going deep in league playoffs. He averages only 9 PPG and 1 steal for 28 minutes in a 6 game stretch. Needless to say his team dropped 6 straight and needed to win 3 straight league playoff games to make States. No problem, his school had won their league playoffs every year with “The Man” and they were playing a perennial bottom dweller. He puts up the worse performance of his life. 0/19 shooting in 3 quarters. Let me state this again, 0/19 shooting in 3 quarters. He also would have 6 turnovers before fouling out at the beginning of the 4th. He dropped dramatically after that stretch of play, and wouldn’t even get offered to play AAU ball as a senior. He went from #9 recruit to #457 in a year. The kid that every school in the nation wanted held no offers from any NCBCA schools.

McCormick Place Event Center, the home of Depaul Basketball

He was still the #1 recruit in the JUCO database and would eventually have a very nice bounceback senior year. His normal godlike performances would pop up again, but his reputation with the NCBCA coaches were tarnished. Nobody wanted him on their team, he wasn’t the star any more. He would end up accepting an offer to play for DePaul, because it made sense for him. Be the star of a big time program in a big time city. He would have a equally star studded year. He would finish 5th in the POTY voting and be a 1st team All American. “The Man” got snubbed of an FOTY award, but he still did his thing. He led his team to the Elite 8 until they got defeated by the eventual national champions in Weber State. What he offered as a player was ridiculous for such a young age, but he was still in his feelings. Locker room issues were common to occur as player weren’t always found with “The Man”. He also got into it with his coaches during a road loss to Furman. He was mad at his coach for his playing time and got as a result, got benched.

DePaul scrimmaging NCBCA's Creighton in the preseason

Sophomore year: He awakes the beast. He doesn’t have as many stars as he did his freshman year, which he is happy for. Less people to share the ball with. He put up 23.5 PPG on 48.2% shooting. He would also have 4 steals and 4 assists per game. He also had an insane 11.3 EWA. He also fought 2 people in the locker room after a loss because he said “They disrespected me”. He got no suspension or playing time restrictions, but he clearly lost the locker room. He would also finish 2nd in POTY, as the media preferred David Benow. It lit a fire under him in the NT, and he carried the Demons as far as he can. But they fell short, and he once again got into a shouting match with his teammates. It definitely turned off a tons of recruits, as players just didn't want to come to DePaul. They lost on so many guys because they said they didn't want to play with Turner. Signing Turner means you take the talent, but may alienate you from the team and potential recruits.

Talent can corrupt the mind

He never was a great person. And all he cared about was his basketball career and fame, never the consequences of his actions. He didn't care at what cost it took to get back to his former self, he just wanted to have his old life back. So he abused PED's and got caught during the MAC Tournament. Now, he has a huge black cloud around him that could damage your program brutally. Also he has a reduction to his skills, given he wasn't as talented as we thought. Be wise with this man. Is he worth the trouble he gets into?