turner gets 5th year

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SoCalHoops College News

USC News: Jarvis Turner
Granted 5th Year--(Aug. 28, 2000)

Last season, when USC was just getting started on a roll and looking like they might make an NCAA Tournament bid run, they lost 6'-8" Jarvis Turner to an ankle injury. Turner was a senior, and it was widely believed that his career as a Trojan was over. But Jarvis and the school petitioned the NCAA for an extra year, and he was granted a medical hardship and given a 5th year of eligibility. He will thus be part of the Trojan team this year, which is already considered by many to be a top 25 program. Here's the official press release, issued today by the University of Southern California athletic department:

Jarvis Turner Granted 5th Year Of Eligibility

Senior forward returns for 2000-2001 season.

LOS ANGELES - USC men's basketball forward Jarvis Turner, whose career presumably was over after suffering a fractured ankle midway through his senior year last season, was granted a medical hardship by the NCAA and awarded a fifth year of eligibility for the upcoming 2000-2001 season, Trojan Coach Henry Bibby announced today.

"It is great to have a veteran guy like Jarvis Turner back on the team because he knows what it takes to win," Bibby said. "He's had a tough career at USC because of injuries and hopefully he can make the most of this opportunity. It's good to have another player on the bench who we know we can count on."

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Turner played in only seven of USC's 30 games (all off the bench) during the 1999-2000 season because of various foot injuries. He missed nine games early in the season (not continuously) with a stress fracture in his left foot which he originally suffered in the preseason. He returned at the start of the Pac-10 season, but played in only four games before suffering a fracture in his left ankle against Arizona State on Jan. 20 which kept him out for the rest of the year.

Overall in 1999-2000, Turner averaged 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game. He had a season-high five points in 14 minutes at Washington State and had a season-high five rebounds in a season-high 24 minutes in the Trojans' opener against Cal State Northridge.

Turner, from Bakersfield, Calif., has started 23 times in 74 career games and has averaged 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. His best year was his 1997-98 sophomore season when Turner started 17 of 22 games and averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game.

Turner rejoins a Trojan team that has been ranked in many preseason Top 25 polls and returns all five starters (senior forward/center Brian Scalabrine, junior forwards Sam Clancy and David Bluthenthal, senior guard Jeff Trepagnier and junior guard Brandon Granville) as well as two other key reserves (sophomore guard Nate Hair and sophomore center Kostas Charissis). Also available on the team is redshirt freshman center Luke Minor, true freshman guard Desmon Farmer and junior college transfers Robert Hutchinson, a sophomore guard, and Gennaro Busterna, a junior guard.

USC finished 16-14 overall and 9-9 (sixth) in the Pacific-10 Conference in 1999-2000. The Trojans were 3-0 in the Pac-10 when both Turner and Clancy went down with injuries against the Sun Devils. USC was still 6-1 in the conference when the injuries started to take effect. The Trojans lost eight of their final 11 games and barely missed postseason action.