From the QBL, to the SBL, to the SEABL, and now the NBL – American forward Ray Turner has been quietly working his way through Australian basketball ranks, and after signing yesterday with the NBL’s league-leading Sydney Kings as their third import, he now has the opportunity to showcase his worth on Australia’s biggest basketball stage.
If you’ve never heard of Turner, here’s a few quick details to bring you up to speed.
He’s a 6’9 forward out of Texas University where he played for three years, and since arriving in Australia in 2014, he’s become known as an elite rebounder and inside scorer while playing as an import in our semi-pro leagues.
He’s big and strong, has a soft shooting touch around the basket and has pulled down 20+ boards for the night on many occasions.
He can play either the four or the five position, with his combination of power and offensive skills making him difficult to stop in the paint.
He played starring roles with the Rockhampton Rockets of the QBL, Perth Redbacks and Willetton Tigers of the SBL, and Bendigo Braves of the SEABL where he earned a variety of individual accolades, including the 2015 SBL MVP award with the Redbacks.
He’s married to an Australian who also played a key role with the Redbacks women’s team in the SBL. This also means it’s possible he could naturalise as an Australian down the road, opening the door for him to play as a non-import.
He has also played professionally overseas in Hungary, Japan and Cyprus.
He spent last season with the Bendido Braves in the SEABL where he averaged 22.6 points and 11 rebounds per game, earning all first-team selection in the process.
Reflecting over his journey to the NBL, Turner said hard work has helped get him to this point.
“It’s awesome” he said about signing with the Kings. “It’s an opportunity I’ve been looking forward to since I arrived here in Australia. It’s a great league and I always believe I could even play in the NBA. I’ve had to work my way up but like the saying goes ‘hard work pays off,’
“Honestly getting to the NBL has been one heck of a journey. One thing I’ve learnt the most is nothing is given to you in life. If you want something you have to work for it and earn it. Great things always come your way when you put in the work.” He said.
Asked what he thinks he can bring to the Kings, Turner said “Leadership, rebounding, and being the best team mate I can be.” all of which sounds perfectly on par with what Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze is wanting, who spoke yesterday about his desire to bring in more rebounding in particular.
“We’re really happy to have Ray on board. He brings an inside presence and has shown at the SEABL level to be an outstanding rebounder which is an area we need help in,” Gaze told Kings media.
“It’s going to take him a little bit of time to get him up to speed with what we’re doing, but for us it was a great fit to get us a little bit of help inside.” He said.
And while time will tell on specifically how Gaze plans to utilise Turner and how many minutes he’ll play, you’d expect to see him coming off the bench to back up Andrew Bogut at the five spot, a player Turner says he’s excited to play with.
“Playing with someone like Bogut will be great. He’s experienced, and obviously has a lot of Basketball knowledge. I’m look forwarding to playing with him and learning from one of the greats.” Turner said.
Turner is well remembered in Perth in particular for putting up 58 points and 26 rebounds in a game for the Perth Redbacks against the Willetton Tigers, and has enjoyed plenty of other big nights of 30+ points and 20+ rebounds. The main question mark as he enters the NBL will now be whether that dominant play in second-tier leagues can translate to the NBL, where he’ll face bigger and more talented defensive teams.
If he’s able to make that jump, the Kings chances of claiming the 2019 championship might have just grown even stronger.
Turner will make his NBL debut on Saturday against the Adelaide 36’ers at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.