BOWLING GREEN — Turns out, Bowling Green has the greenest grass.
After weeks of flirting with bigger-name suitors, Justin Turner announced Monday he is renewing his vows.
The Falcons basketball star is coming back to Bowling Green.
I’ll be damned.
Good for him, and good for the Falcons.
It’s not everyday — OK, ever — that you see a mid-major star take part in senior night ceremonies and enter the transfer portal, only to fire his divorce lawyer and stay home. But then the two-time all-Mid-American Conference guard is not your ordinary player and these are not ordinary times.
Also extraordinary: the opportunity that awaits in his last go-around on Wooster Street.
In turning down Missouri, Iowa State, Marquette, and every other power-conference program that came rapping on his door, Turner did not decide to put glory on hold. He decided to continue chasing it at BG, which with the band back together will begin next season in strong position to end the school’s 52-year-and-counting NCAA tournament drought.
Really, what could be bigger than that?
Sure, I figured he would be drawn to the brighter lights, and who could have blamed him? Turner was the top available transfer on the market. If he had so chosen, he deserved the chance to play his final season in bucket-list arenas against blue-chip players.
But what we expected was not what he wanted.
“Write your own story,” Turner posted on Instagram.
And the best setting for a storybook ending? Perhaps it’s at Bowling Green.
A few reasons why:
The uncertain climate: It’s hard to imagine a worse time to make a major life move than during a global pandemic. Turner wasn’t able to visit the schools recruiting him or meet any prospective new teammates. With life as we know it indefinitely on hold, the familiarity of BG surely carried an appeal.
The risk of relocation: While Turner’s game would have translated well to a higher level — I strongly believe this — there was no guarantee he would have found the right fit. How many times have we seen the big man on campus in the MAC become just a guy after transferring to a power-conference school? Most recently, former Ohio guard Jaaron Simmons averaged 15.7 points and 7.9 assists as an all-league junior in 2017, only to shoot his shot at Michigan, where he barely cracked the rotation in his final season. The truth is players eyeing a pro career are better off starring in the MAC than blending in elsewhere.
The chance to burnish his legacy: Turner’s standing at Bowling Green is secure after leading the Falcons to consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in seven decades, but he could go down as one of the all-time greats. Turner is 344 points shy of setting the program’s all-time scoring mark — currently held by Anthony Stacey (1,938 points) — and, of course, one magical March from a party for the ages.
After a season without closure, Turner is back to write his ending.
And, with four starters returning for the Falcons, it is not hard to imagine looking up someday at pair of banners hanging from the Stroh Center rafters.
One celebrating a trip to the 2021 tournament, another honoring No. 1 and the man who led them there.
The man who decided the best move was no move at all, the grass greenest right here in Bowling Green.
First Published April 13, 2020, 11:51 p.m.
