If Will Smith’s famed 1990’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was centered strictly around the sport of basketball, Bucknell commit and current Malvern Prep senior guard Deuce Turner would probably be the ideal guy to cast for the role.
Born, and still residing in Coatesville, Pa. Turner spurned the Red Raiders in lieu of an opportunity to do something special with the Malvern Prep Friars.
Attending Coatesville would’ve paired Turner with the ultra-talented Jhamir “Jig” Brickus, who just notched his 2,000th point in a thrilling matchup with Turner and the Friars over the weekend.
Turner and Brickus would’ve made for one of the most explosive scoring backcourts in all of Pennsylvania, but Turner had things mapped out a different way in his mind.
Despite blowback from some of his peers for going to a high school that plays a brand of basketball deemed as “softer,” Turner has not only maintained the respect of his hometown peers by dominating with the Friars to the tune of 1,500+ points (and counting), but he’s positioned Malvern as a perennial powerhouse in the Inter-Ac Conference during his tenure at the school.
Turner took the time to speak to Basketball Society’s BJ Boyer back in November, touching on a myriad of topics, ranging from initial qualms about attending Malvern Prep, being a role model to the youth in his town, what makes Coatesville basketball players unique and his all-time NBA starting five.
Off the court, it’s evident that Turner is a driven and self-kept young man eager to work hard to reach his goals, which is a sentiment echoed by Roi Lush, one of Turner’s assistant coaches at Malvern Prep.
“Deuce is a quiet, humble, hard-working kid. When we talk it’s mainly basketball, but sometimes we talk life. I know that he is committed to playing at bucknell. (Deuce) Loves the game, loves learning about it and takes pride in getting better. The kid is a winner in every aspect of life.”
Deuce Turner currently has his Malvern Prep sitting at 8-4 on the season and looks to conclude his career with the Friars by joining the 2,000 points club and claiming a conference championship.
