player knocked Turner's tray in a fast-food restaurant. The coach told Turner to cool it but once they got back on campus, Turner exacted retribution. The next day when the coach saw that teammate sporting a black eye, he summoned Turner to his office and kicked him off the team. As a result, Turner enlisted in a junior college across the street from the World Trade Center, prompting him to be recruited by a Division Two college. However, the programme was put on probation after a number of ineligible players had also been signed. Turner subsequently dropped out of college and took up a job working for FedEx. In his time away from college during the 1990s playing in New York City indoor leagues and at playgrounds, Turner met future NBA champion Ron Artest. According to Turner, before Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace, and before the 2004 "Malice at the Palace" incident, the Artest that Turner knew was a hugely likeable, grounded kid. Both Turner and Artest lived in Queens and played in tournaments at the legendary Rucker Park. In 1999, Artest left St John's to enter the NBA, while Turner went back to college. He joined NCAA Division II's Dowling College and went on to average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game during the 1999–2000 season. He earned All-America honors at Dowling and received his bachelor's degree in Sociology. Professional career Landing in Ireland (2000) After college, Turner was invited to a free agent camp in Utah—a camp where college seniors who are under the radar go and try to continue their careers. Turner was befriended by a former owner of a BBL team, Bob Wood. Wood told Turner that he would keep him in mind if a team contacted him about players. Later that summer, Turner received a call from Chester Jets coach Robbie Peers. He told Turner that he would sign him if his first choice, former NBA player Loren Meyer, fell through. Meyer did sign with them, and so the search continued. After a 15-game stint in Puerto Rico with Capitanes de Arecibo, where he averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, Turner received a call from Irishman Frankie O'Loane on September 10, 2000. It was O'Loane who brought Turner to Ireland to play for Tyrone Towers in Dungannon. Turner arrived in Ireland on September 18, 2000, to begin his first professional season.