Ex-Arizona Guard Josiah Turner Not Returning to College; Will Instead Pursue Professional Career

Once heralded as the nation’s next great point guard, former Arizona Wildcat Josiah Turner has endured a hard fall from the top. In his lone year at Arizona, Turner struggled on and off the court, losing his starting job early in the season and later being suspended for the rest of the season on the eve of the Pac-12 tournament. Well, instead of trying to revive his college career, Turner will attempt to play professional ball next season, which he hopes will eventually land him in the NBA. Yahoo Sports has the details: “The talented but troubled former Arizona guard told Yahoo! Sports that he will sign with a pro team next season either overseas or in the D-League in hopes he can parlay that into an opportunity to make the NBA the following year. ‘I had to step back and reevaluate what my main goal and my dream was,’ Turner said. ‘My dream is to be a professional athlete in the NBA and I think this is what’s going to bring me closer to it. In college, you get your degree and everything, but going pro is getting me closer to my dream and what I want to do in life.’ Turner acknowledged Tuesday that both alcohol and marijuana were ‘big issues’ for him during his one year at Arizona, but he insisted he has reevaluated his life since his arrest. ‘My maturity level now is way higher than it was when I was in Arizona,’ Turner said. ‘I was young. I made mistakes. I just learned a lot from last year thinking about where I could be at right now and thinking about the things I did last year. It was all stupid.'”