As freshman guard Phil Turner took to the floor of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Wednesday for the Bulldogs’ Southeastern Conference opening game against LSU, he said he was immediately awestruck as he gazed at the retired numbers of former Tiger basketball players hanging from the top of the arena.That awe was not an emotion that he fully expected to feel as he and the team traveled to Baton Rouge for the game against the Tigers, but he said he was suddenly overwhelmed as he saw the hanging jerseys of LSU greats Bob Pettit, Shaquille O’Neal and Pete Maravich.
“When I had thought about playing at LSU, [the thought of playing there] didn’t really get me going,” Turner said. “But before the game, I looked around and saw Pete Maravich’s jersey and Shaquille’s jersey, and I was just looking and realizing that now I was playing there. It was pretty amazing.”
Turner translated his amazement into a feeling of intensity on the court as he was placed into the starting line-up for the third-consecutive game due to Charles Rhodes’ ankle injury, which he suffered during a team practice in late December.
Despite being only a freshman and having limited SEC games under his belt, Turner has seen and played plenty of competitive basketball over the past year.
The Grenada native spent last season as a redshirt freshman and used that time to become acclimated with college basketball.
Turner also spent the offseason competing for SCORE International, which presented him with the opportunity to play international basketball.
“It helped me get back into the flow of playing basketball,” he said. “We played pro clubs over there, and it definitely improved my game.”
After the strenuous play overseas, Turner came back to Starkville and officially contributed to the Bulldog basketball team for the first time during the season opener against Louisiana Tech.
Mississippi State basketball head coach Rick Stansbury initially had Turner as one of the top reserve players coming off the bench at the beginning of the season.
When he came off the bench, Turner said those first collegiate games of his career were important and that he wanted to become a spark plug for the team.
“It was big,” Turner said of the minutes he received early in the season. “You can practice a lot, but practice play and game play are two totally different feels. You can’t substitute game play, so [the minutes] were big.”
The playing time Turner received earlier in the season is now paying dividends as he continues to join fellow starters Jamont Gordon, Ben Hansbrough, Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado in the starting lineup while Rhodes remains unable to rejoin the starting five.
Turner knew he would have a hard time replacing Rhodes’ presence and productivity, but he has put plenty of effort into making up for his absence.
“[Charles’] shoes are some big shoes to fill,” Turner said. “I’m not saying I can fill them, but I just want to come in there and do what I do. I don’t want to try to force anything. I just want to let the game come to me and defend and rebound.”
And that effort has been noticeable so far this season, particularly during the games in which he has been a member of the starting five.
In the five games Turner has started this season, he has averaged about 10 points and seven rebounds. He notched his first career double-double in the 87-75 win against Missouri on Dec. 30 by collecting 12 points to go along with his 10 rebounds.
His intensity also showed during Saturday’s win over Georgia when he drained two critical three-pointers in the second half to help Mississippi State pull away from the visitors.
“Phil Turner is a terrific shooter,” Stansbury said after Saturday’s game. “I have never told Phil Turner not to shoot. We have tried to get him a lot of confidence.