Courtesy of UC Irvine Media Relations

Russell Turner was named men’s basketball coach at UC Irvine Friday after serving the past six seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association following positions at Stanford University and Wake Forest University.
 
Turner has had numerous responsibilities under head coach Don Nelson at Golden State, including assisting with game planning, analyzing opponent tendencies and individual player skill development.
 
Turner also served as a coach for the Warriors’ summer-league entry in Las Vegas the past 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.
 
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.
 
The list of players he worked with at Stanford includes All-Americans Josh Childress, Casey Jacobsen, Jarron Collins and Jason Collins.
 
Prior to Stanford, Turned worked under Dave Odom as an assistant at Wake Forest University from 1994-2000.
 
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’s first coaching position was as an assistant at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College in 1993-94.
 
As a player at Hampden-Sydney, Turner was a two-time All-American (1991 & 1992) and set the school’s career scoring record of 2,272 points.  He was a member of Hampden-Sydney’s first two NCAA tournament teams.
 
Turner, who was runner-up for NCAA Division III Player of the Year in 1992, was inducted into Hampden-Sydney’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
 
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 is a native of Roanoke, Va.  He and his wife, Elizabeth, a physician, have two children, Devlin and Darius.
 
“Russell’s body of work makes him a superb choice for our program,” UCI Athletic Director Mike Izzi said.  “He has worked in successful programs, gaining valuable knowledge from Hall-of-Fame caliber coaches, and has thrived in academic settings.
 
“He has had the opportunity to help develop some of the NBA’s top players and work closely with many outstanding collegiate competitors.  Our players will benefit greatly from his experience.
 
“We look forward to the excitement that Russell will bring to our basketball program, the campus and the community.  We welcome Russell and his family to our university,” Izzi said.
 
“I also want to thank our search committee for their hard work and diligence in providing valuable assistance with this process,” Izzi added.
 
Turner agreed to a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $205,000.  He becomes the seventh head coach in the 45-year history of the Anteater men’s basketball program.
 
“I am honored and extremely excited to be chosen to lead the men’s basketball program at UCI,” Turner said.  “In many ways this is a dream job for me because of the culture of excellence within this University.  I am eager to get to work with my team and to earn the respect of the Irvine community and I will approach all of the important aspects of this job with great enthusiasm.  I have tremendous respect for the coach I am following, Pat Douglass, and I am hoping to form strong relationships with the many impressive people who are a part of this program’s past as we build for the future of our team.”
 
Scott Brooks, current head coach with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and former UC Irvine basketball standout, says “I am thrilled for the UC Irvine basketball family.  Russell is a great teacher of the game and brings a wealth of knowledge to our program.”
 
At UCI, Turner replaces Pat Douglass, who is the Anteaters’ winningest coach with 197 victories, including a school-record 25 in 2000-01.  Douglass served 13 seasons as head coach, leading UCI to its first Big West Conference regular-season titles in 2001 and 2002, and NIT appearances both of those years.

What other people are saying about Russell Turner:
 
“I think that UC Irvine has made an outstanding choice.  Russ is one of the best young coaches that I’ve ever worked with and I’ve felt that all he needed was a chance – and now he has that chance.  He has a very bright future.”

-- Don Nelson, Head Coach – NBA’s Golden State Warriors; All-time winningest coach in NBA history
 
 
“Russ is a great hire for the Anteaters.  He has a lot of energy and is a real people person.  He is bright and a very capable basketball guy.  I was fortunate to see him flourish at Stanford and went on to hire him with the Warriors.  Everyone there will enjoy working with Russ.

--Mike Montgomery, Head Coach – University of California; former head coach at Stanford University and Golden State


“Congratulations to UC Irvine.  You are getting a great guy and I think it’s going to be exciting for your program.  I have known Russ Turner as a high school player, collegian and as a young coach.  I have watched him progress as an assistant coach at WakeForest and Stanford, and in his six years as an NBA coach.  His background gives him a uniqueness to be the best-qualified person to be the basketball coach at UC Irvine.  When you combine his basketball background with his human qualities, you have a person who is caring, loyal, disciplined and committed to student-athletes.  UC Irvine is getting the very best person for the job and I look forward to watching his continued progress and the growth of the Anteater basketball program with him.”

-- Dave Odom – Former head coach at Wake Forest University and South Carolina
 
 
“I know that Coach Turner will do an outstanding job.  He has Pac-10 experience and is a wonderful person and family man.  He will recruit quality kids and turn that program into a young and upcoming place to be.  He was a great mentor and coach for me.  I have the utmost confidence in him.”

-- Baron Davis, Guard – NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers; NBA All-Star