Texas Tech basketball: Underrated players from the dark ages of the program
Robert Turner
Another two-year contributor on this list is Robert Turner, who was a steady point guard for the Red Raiders from 2013-15. Appearing in 64 games and starting 61, he averaged 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Playing JUCO ball in nearby Hobbs, NM, Turner didn’t have to travel far to get to a Big 12 school. And as soon as the Georgia native arrived, he assumed command of the offense.
In addition to finishing third on the team in scoring at 9.3 p.p.g., he dished out 2.6 assists to lead the team in his first season on the South Plains. He was also the team leader with 1.3 steals per game while pulling down 2.6 rebounds, the latter of which is a respectable number for a 6-foot-3 point guard.
In February of 2014, he led Tech with 16 points as the Red Raiders upset an 18-6 Oklahoma team in Norman. In the 68-60 win, he also dished out a game-high five assists.
A year later, in the same upset of No. 9 Iowa State in which Williams had 22 points, Turner had 13 points and 10 rebounds, his only career double-double. In all, Turner had 27 games of at least 10 points in his Texas Tech basketball career.
Playing in an offense that was much more compartmentalized than Chris Beard’s motion offense, Turner was asked to be the man that got his team into the offense, distribute the ball, and also be a scoring option. It was a significant load but one that never seemed too big for him to handle.
But Red Raider fans should also appreciate the symbolism of Turner’s career. As the first signee of the Tubby Smith era, he was the beginning of a new chapter for the program, one that would see the Red Raiders finally begin to weave their way out of the wilderness.
Unfortunatley for Turner, he didn’t get to experience the NCAA Tournament as Williams did. He missed that by one year. He also came to town a year ahead of the legendary 2014 class which included Keenan Evans, Zach Smith, Norense Odiase, and Justin Gray but his signing as a JUCO All-American was significant in its own right.
Though we may not look upon him as favorably as we do the players that Smith signed a year later, we should appreciate the fact that when he came to Lubbock, it was the faintest light at the end of the long tunnel that was the dark age of Tech hoops.