NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing grad transfer Justin Turner’s finalists

Arkansas Razorbacks

There’s a strong chance that 22 ppg leading scorer Mason Jones will leave for the NBA Draft after a mega junior campaign. But even without both he and Jimmy Whitt, Arkansas will have plenty of backcourt talent for next season. 17 ppg Isaiah Joe will be an SEC Player of the Year contender, while JD Notae, who averaged 15.5 ppg in two years at Jacksonville, is coming off a redshirt. At the small forward spot, Turner’s biggest competition will be top-50 freshman Moses Moody.

There are two concerns with Turner’s possible fit with the Razorbacks. The first is that without Jones, there’s no clear ball-handler on the roster to facilitate the offense. That leads to part two, which is that with so many new transfers/freshmen coming in, there’s no telling what everyone’s role will be. Chemistry could be an issue, as it was on Eric Musselman’s last year with Nevada. Without a clear role, this may be a tricky place to commit to.

Missouri Tigers

The longstanding relationship head coach Cuanzo Martin has in the recruiting world reaches out to Turner as well, who could be the piece needed to get back to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return all of their guards from this past season, although none of them averaged over 12.7 ppg. There’s a decent foundation to work with, with Dru Smith and Mark Smith leading the way.

Even f Turner joins Missouri, they wouldn’t be a lock to make the Big Dance. But the last mid-major scorer who transferred to the Tigers had huge success. Canisius transfer Kassius Robertson led the team in scoring on the 2017-18 squad that last made the NCAA Tournament. Could Turner replicate that?