The Turner Zone

Illinois' Kevin Turner continues despite tragedies, faces cagers tomorrow

Gertrude Garrett cannot even walk down to the local market without someone stopping her and asking about her nephew. But she does not mind.

"People are always coming up and saying, 'I seen him play,' " Garrett said. "If I don't get the paper my neighbor comes over and says, 'Here, I got the paper for Kevin.'

"I'm very proud of Kevin."

Garrett's nephew, Kevin Turner, is the starting shooting guard for the Illinois men's basketball team. The slender 6-foot-3 senior has become the Fighting Illini's leading scorer this year and is one of the Big Ten's most potent 3-point shooters.

On the season, Turner is 52 of 137 from 3-point land, including 21 of 54 in conference play.

Turner will look to continue his 3-point barrage tomorrow afternoon as the Fighting Illini (14-7, 6-2 Big Ten) travel to Penn State (10-7, 3-4) for a 3:15 p.m. tipoff at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Illinois is coming off a 66-62 win at Ohio State on Wednesday night. Against the Buckeyes, Turner scored a game-high 24 points including 5 of 11 from behind the arc. Turner once scored a total of 67 points over a two-game span earlier this season. He registered 32 against UCLA and 35 against Indiana

Illinois has not lost many conference games this year, and when it did, it wasn't by much. But for Turner, no loss can compare to the ones he has dealt with off the court.

Turner and his family lived with his grandmother, Pinkie Jackson, growing up. He and his older brother Kenneth are the only children of the late Yvette Jackson and the late Clarence Turner.

Clarence Turner died when Kevin was just 8 months old. Today, Garrett says Kevin looks so much like his father, the two could pass as twins.

When Kevin Turner was a teenager his mother developed cancer. This illness, coupled with the fact that he never had a father, led him to develop a close relationship with his grandmother, Pinkie.

"Kevin was her baby," Garrett said. "She really worshipped those two boys."

Trying to get Turner to talk about his personal misfortune, Garrett said, is a difficult task. Garrett said she would show Turner a picture of his grandmother and he would just put down and walk away.

Turner may have grown up without a father, but had a plethora of aunts and uncles to fill the void. Yvette was the baby of eight Jackson kids.

In March of 1995, Turner's freshman year in college, Jackson succumbed to cancer.

"He was pretty hurt," Garrett said. "Just like any child would be of his mother. He and his (older) brother (Kenneth) hung in pretty good together."

A year and a half later Turner would no longer have anyone to hang in there with. In August, 1996, the very same day Turner returned to school in Champaign, Ill., Kenneth was caught in the middle of a gang-related crossfire just a few blocks from their home in Chicago and was killed. Kevin was 23 at the time.

Tragedy and misfortune have followed Turner off the court. Fortunately, they have not found their way on the court.

"Kevin's battled a lot off the court," Illinois coach Lon Kruger said. "I'm just appreciating what he's doing now and what his teammates are doing now and enjoying it."

Perhaps the only way those who do not know Turner can find out a little more about him is to visit his web site at www.students.uiuc.edu/~kdturner/. The words "You've entered the Turner Zone," are perched at the top of the page, while a dedication to his mother and brother sit at the bottom followed by the song title "See Ya at the Crossroads."

Garrett was unaware of the web site and dedication Turner had made to his family. When told about it, her voice faded into silence.

Eventually she was able to muster, "I had no idea."