Well-Traveled Turner Finds Home With Sharks
Basketball has taken Khalil Turner all across the United States.
In the past two years, the 21-year-old has played at Division I Rider University in New Jersey and Palm Beach State College, a school north of Broward County.
This summer, the six-foot-eight-inch forward verbally committed to Mississippi Valley State University but was unable to attend because of funding and academic requirement issues.
But after two years of hopscotching across the country, the vagabond basketball player has found a home at Miami Dade College.
Turner is averaging 16.8 points and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game for the (6-5) Sharks this season. He is also anchoring the team’s defense at forward.
“[Khalil] plays probably the biggest role on the team,” said freshman guard James Horton. “He got a big voice to encourage everybody. He is the star player and a great captain. He’s a big tool for the team.”
Turner has been productive in 10 games of action for the Sharks. He has scored in double figures in every game including a 26 point performance Nov. 27 win versus Northwest Florida State College. He also notched a 15 rebound game against DME Academy on Nov. 20.
“Khalil [is] our leader offensively and defensively,” shooting guard Matthew Khoury said. “One of his best attributes is that he’s a great play maker so he always finds me in my spot. He always gives me the confidence to shoot the ball.”
As a freshman, Turner played sparingly at Rider University averaging 0.5 points a game. He transferred to Palm Beach State College last year where he averaged 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds a game and was named First Team All-Southern Conference. He was granted a second sophomore campaign due to the COVID-shortened season but did not return to the Panthers because they moved down to Division II.
“He’s played Division I basketball,” said Sharks’ assistant men’s basketball coach Dillon “DJ” Jenkins, who recruited Turner to MDC. “He was first-team all-conference in his conference last year. So just being a leader that’s one of the reasons why I wanted him because I knew he knows what it takes to be at the next level.”
Turner, who is from Philadelphia, started to play basketball when he was in middle school. He latched on to the sport because his stepbrother, Jiair Ballard-West, played the game.
“I started playing basketball around sixth or seventh grade,” Turner said. “I didn’t start taking it seriously until eighth grade. That’s when I started realizing that I had a lot of talent and I could take this very far.”
Turner started harnessing his leadership skills at Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School. He has carried that attribute over to MDC where he immediately became a captain after only a few weeks with the team.
Teammates rave about his intangibles like his basketball IQ and vocal leadership.
“Off the court, he helps me [with] other situations that don’t have to do with basketball like my family issues,” Horton said. “He guides me through it. He is always telling me to keep my head up and better days are coming.”
