Russell Turner (basketball)

Russell Turner
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	UC Irvine
Conference	Big West
Record	293–180 (.619)
Biographical details
Born	October 24, 1970 (age 54)
Playing career
1988–1992	Hampden–Sydney
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993–1994	Hampden–Sydney (assistant)
1994–2000	Wake Forest (assistant)
2000–2004	Stanford (assistant)
2004–2010	Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2010–present	UC Irvine
Head coaching record
Overall	293–180 (.619)
Tournaments	1–2 (NCAA Division I); 0–4 (NIT); 4–2 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	7 Big West regular season (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024); 2 Big West tournament (2015, 2019)
Awards
	4x Big West Coach of the Year (2014, 2017, 2019, 2020)

Last updated November 18, 2024

Russell Devlin Turner (born October 24, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who is the head men's coach at UC Irvine, a position he has held since 2010.^[1]

Playing career

As a player at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, Turner was the all-time leading scorer in Hampden-Sydney basketball history, tallying 2,272 points, and was the only player ever to score over 2,000 points. Turner holds the Hampden-Sydney record for points in a season (680) and average points in his career (21.6). He earned First Team All-ODAC four times (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992) and was a three-time All-South Region performer (1990, 1991, 1992). Turner also earned ODAC All-Tournament honors three times (1989, 1991, 1992). Turner was a two-time All-American, earning the honor in 1991 and 1992. Solid in the classroom as well, Turner earned First Team Academic All-American honors in 1992. He graduated magna cum laude in 1992 with a B.A. in English and economics, and earned numerous academic honors including election into Phi Beta Kappa.

Turner was inducted into Hampden-Sydney's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002

Coaching career

Turner's first coaching position was as an assistant at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College in 1993-94.

From 1994-2000, Turned worked under Dave Odom as an assistant at Wake Forest University. The Demon Deacons won 161 games in those six seasons, advancing to the NCAA tournament three times, including the Midwest Regional final in 1996. Tim Duncan was a three-time All-American during Turner's tenure at Wake Forest.

Turner was a member of Mike Montgomery's Stanford University staff from 2000-04 when the Cardinal had a combined overall record of 105-24 (.814), including 59-13 (.819) in Pac-10 play. Stanford won Pac-10 regular-season titles in 2001 and 2004, was ranked No. 1 in the polls both seasons, and advanced to the NCAA tournament each of Turner's four years, including the West Regional final in 2001.

Turner also served as a coach for the Golden State Warriors' summer-league entry in Las Vegas for five seasons. He has been an active participant in the NBA's international outreach camps, including Basketball without Borders, representing the league in Turkey, China and Lithuania. BWB is a program that uses basketball to create positive social change in education, health and wellness.

The list of players he worked with at Stanford and Wake Forest includes Tim Duncan, Josh Howard, Darius Songaila, Casey Jacobsen, Jarron Collins, Jason Collins and Josh Childress

UC Irvine

Turner was named UC Irvine's head coach on April 9, 2010, after serving the previous six seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association.

Russell Turner, the winningest coach in UCI history, concluded his 13th season at the helm in 2022-23 with an overall record of 265-170 (winning percentage 61%). Turner has guided the Anteaters to 8 twenty win seasons in the last 10 years wins, 11 seasons in a row with a winning record, and averages over 20 wins a season for his career.

Turner after his 13th season as head coach at UC Irvine in 2022-23, has led the 'Eaters to seven postseason appearances (2013 CIT, 2014 NIT, 2015 NCAA, 2016 CIT, 2017 NIT, 2019 NCAA, and 2023 NIT).

Turner became the only coach in UCI history to amass 200+ wins and is only one of seven coaches in Big West History to reach over 200 wins. He has been named the Big West Coach of the Year four times in his career and has led the 'Eaters to Big West regular season titles in seven of the last ten seasons. Turner was also the 2014 NABC District 9 Coach of the Year.

On the national stage, Turner has been named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award in 2017 & 2020, and the Hugh Durham Award in 2019 & 2020. Bracketbusters.com also named him one of the Top-10 Big West Coaches of the Century.

UCI's 2020-21 team was the second youngest in the country, and Turner led the Anteaters to a Big West Tournament final for the fourth-consecutive season.

In 2019-20, Turner led the Anteaters to their second-straight Big West regular season outright title, marking the first time in UCI history the 'Eaters won back-to-back outright titles. UCI entered the Big West Tournament as the No. 1 seed before its cancelation.

He led UCI to a record-breaking 2018-19 season as the Anteaters broke school records in overall wins (31), longest winning streak (17 games) and tied a program best 15-1 mark in Big West play. Turner guided the Anteaters to their second Big West Conference Tournament title and second NCAA Tournament appearance. UCI won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game defeating fourth-seeded Kansas State 70-64. He also helped Jonathan Galloway become the Big West's first-ever three time Defensive Player of the Year recipient.

In 2017-18, he guided the Anteaters to their sixth-straight winning season with an 18-17 overall record and second-straight Big West Tournament final. He upped his career win total to 157 becoming the third coach in UC Irvine history to eclipse 150 wins in a career.

In 2016, Turner led UCI to a 28-10 record, which at the time, set school records for overall victories, non-conference wins (15), and road victories (13).

In 2015, he led UCI to the program’s first NCAA Division I Tournament berth as the Anteaters won the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time in school history. UCI took three-time national champion Louisville to the wire in the NCAA Second round, falling 57-55.

Turner was named 2014 Big West Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 9 Coach of the Year after leading the Anteaters to their first league regular-season title in 12 years and a second consecutive 20-win season.

Personal life

A native of Roanoke, Virginia, where he attended Patrick Henry High School, Turner graduated from Hampden–Sydney College with magna cum laude honors and a B.A. in English and Economics. Turner was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa for his academic success.

Turner and his wife Liz, have two children, daughter Devlin and son Darius. Liz is also a Roanoke native and a Kaiser Permanente critical care physician who studied at Wake Forest University (Masters/MD), UCSF, and Stanford.

Accolades

In 2014, Turner was listed by CBS Sports as one of the 10 coaches on the rise in college basketball.^[2] In 2015, ESPN Insider listed Turner as one of the 10 coaches to watch.^[3] Turner was voted one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Orange County in 2015.^[4] He was also a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award in 2017 and 2020, and a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award in 2019 and 2020. Turner is a four time Big West Coach of the Year (2013-14, 16-17, 18-19, and 19-20).

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West Conference)(2010–present)
2010–11	UC Irvine	13–19	6–10	T–7th
2011–12	UC Irvine	12–20	6–10	T–6th
2012–13	UC Irvine	21–16	11–7	4th	CIT second round
2013–14	UC Irvine	23–12	13–3	1st	NIT first round
2014–15	UC Irvine	21–13	11–5	T–2nd	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2015–16	UC Irvine	28–10	13–3	T–1st	CIT Runner-up
2016–17	UC Irvine	21–15	12–4	1st	NIT first round
2017–18	UC Irvine	18–17	11–5	T–2nd
2018–19	UC Irvine	31–6	15–1	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2019–20	UC Irvine	21–11	13–3	1st	NCAA Division I Cancelled
2020–21	UC Irvine	18–9	10–4	2nd
2021–22	UC Irvine	15–10	9–5	4th
2022–23	UC Irvine	23–12	15–5	T–1st	NIT first round
2023–24	UC Irvine	24–10	17–3	1st	NIT first round
2024–25	UC Irvine	4-0
UC Irvine:		293–180 (.619)	162–68 (.704)
Total:		293–180 (.619)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine. Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.

The UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of the University of California, Irvine. The team's home venue is Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark located on campus in Irvine, California. UC Irvine baseball has been a member of the NCAA Division I Big West Conference since the start of the 2002 season which was the Anteaters' first season of play following the university's decision to revive its baseball program following the sport's discontinuation in 1992.

The UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of California, Irvine. The team currently competes in the Big West Conference, NCAA Division I.

The 2013–14 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by fourth year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center. They were members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 13–3 in Big West play to win the Big West regular season championship. They advanced to the Big West Conference tournament where they lost to Cal Poly. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament they earned an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to SMU.

The 2014–15 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by fifth-year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. They were members of the Big West Conference and finished the season 21–13, 11–5 in Big West play, to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Hawaii to become champions of the Big West tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their first tournament bid in school history, where they lost in the second round to Louisville.

The 2015–16 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by sixth year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center. They are members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 28–10, 13–3 in Big West play to win a share of the regular season Big West championship. They defeated Cal Poly in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Long Beach State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated North Dakota, Louisiana–Lafayette, and Coastal Carolina to advance to the championship game where they lost to Columbia. This season, UC Irvine set the new season record in wins with 28, surpassing the previous mark of 25. They also set the records for most true road wins with 13, and most conference wins with 13. Alex Young became the first player in school history to record career 1,000 points, 500 assists, and 500 rebounds. Mamadou N'Diaye broke the school record in career blocked shots with 218.

The 2016–17 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by seventh year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 21–15, 12–4 in Big West play to win the regular season conference championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Big West tournament, they defeated UC Riverside and Long Beach State before losing to UC Davis in the championship game. As a No. 1 seed in their conference tournament who failed to win their conference tournament title, UC Irvine received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As a No. 8 seed, they were defeated by No. 1 seed Illinois State in the first round. The team won their third Big West Regular Season title in the past four years and their 5th straight season with at least 20 wins.

The UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of California, Irvine. The team currently competes in the Big West Conference, NCAA Division I.

The 1977–78 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the program's first season in Division I after spending the previous 12 season in Division II. The Anteaters were led by ninth year head coach Tim Taft and played their home games at Crawford Hall as members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished their inaugural season 8–17 and were 2–12 in PCAA play to finish 8th place. The anteaters did not receive an invitation to the 1978 PCAA tournament.

The 1978–79 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the program's second season in Division I and 14th season overall. The Anteaters were led by tenth year head coach Tim Taft and played their home games at Crawford Hall as members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 9–17 and were 3–11 in PCAA play to finish 8th place. The anteaters were invited to the 1979 PCAA tournament as the eighth seed where they lost to the Pacific Tigers in the first round.

The 1980–81 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by first year head coach Bill Mulligan and played their home games at the Crawford Hall. They were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 17–10 and 9–5 in PCAA play.

The 1982–83 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by third year head coach Bill Mulligan and played their home games at the Crawford Hall. They were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 16–12 and 8–8 in PCAA play.

The 2010–11 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters, led by first year head coach Russell Turner, played their home games at the Bren Events Center and were members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 6–10 in Big West play to finish tied for seventh place.

The 2017–18 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by eighth-year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 18–17, 11–5 in Big West play, to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the Big West tournament, they defeated Hawaii and UC Santa Barbara before losing to Cal State Fullerton in the championship game.

The 2018–19 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by ninth-year head coach Russell Turner competing in the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine is a member of the Big West Conference, and participated in their 41st consecutive season in that league. The team finished the season with many new records that included a new school record of 31-6, longest game winning streak (17), and first ever NCAA Tournament win over Kansas State in the South Region 1st Round before falling to Oregon in the 2nd Round. Jonathan Galloway became the new program record holder of rebounds (969), career games won (95), career games played (146). Max Hazzard broke the Bren Events Center record for most three pointers made in a game on December 15 against Denver (10) and the team broke the school record for most threes made in a game that night with 18. Evan Leonard set a school record of 44 consecutive free throws made that ended in the NCAA Tournament 2nd Round vs Oregon. The team finished 2nd in the 2018 Asia-Pacific University Basketball Challenge prior to the season and the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase during the regular season. The team won its 4th regular season title in 6 seasons on March 2, 2019 in a win over UC Riverside. The team won its second Big West tournament title with wins over UC Riverside, Long Beach State, and Cal State Fullerton.

The 2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by tenth-year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine was a member of the Big West Conference. The team won their second straight Big West regular-season title before the 2020 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament; subsequently, the remainder of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and postseason tournaments were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished 21–11, and won at least a share of 3 of the last 4 Big West regular-season titles. The program has won at least 20 games in 7 of the last 8 seasons. Turner became the winningest coach in program history on January 15 surpassing Pat Douglass's total of 197 wins and won his 4th Big West Coach of the Year Award. Evan Leonard, Eyassu Worku and Tommy Rutherford all recorded their 1,000th point during the season, the first time the program has had three players score 1,000 career points in the same season. The team was 12th in the nation in FG% defense, holding opponents to 38.8% shooting, 11th in total rebounds (1,269), and 3rd in rebounding margin (+9.4). Brad Greene pulled down a Bren Events Center-record 21 rebounds on January 11 vs. Hawaii.

The 2019–20 Cal State Fullerton Titans men's basketball team represented California State University, Fullerton in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Titans, led by seventh-year head coach Dedrique Taylor, played their home games at the Titan Gym in Fullerton, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 6–10 in Big West play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They were set to be the No. 7 seed in the Big West tournament. However, the Big West tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020–21 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 11th-year head coach Russell Turner. The team finished the season with an 18–9 (10–4) record finishing 2nd place in the standings and advanced to the 2021 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament where they were defeated by UC Santa Barbara 63–79. The Anteaters continued their success finishing 1st or 2nd for 7 straight seasons in the Big West Conference and 4 straight Big West tournament Championship games. The school set a new scoring record and the largest margin of victory (80) on November 28, 2020 over NAIA opponent Bethesda University by the score of 135–55. Also new school records broken in that game were assists (31) and FGs made (56). New Bren Events Center records broken were the most points scored in a first half (70) and game FG % (0.691).

The 2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner.

The 2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Anteaters, led by eighth-year head coach Tamara Inoue, played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as members of the Big West Conference.

References

↑ Leung, Diamond (2010-04-09) UC Irvine Anteaters tabs Russell Turner for head coaching job. ESPN
↑
↑ https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/13255967/ten-coaches-hot-commodities-come-april and he was listed as one of the top 25 mid-major coaches http://www.sportsdegens.com/top-25-mid-major-coaches/
↑ "Most Influential 2015: Russell Turner". Orange County Register. 18 December 2015.

External links

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[1] Leung, Diamond (2010-04-09) UC Irvine Anteaters tabs Russell Turner for head coaching job. ESPN

[2] ↑

[3] ttps://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/13255967/ten-coaches-hot-commodities-come-april and he was listed as one of the top 25 mid-major coaches http://www.sportsdegens.com/top-25-mid-major-coaches/

[4] "Most Influential 2015: Russell Turner". Orange County Register. 18 December 2015.

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