LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wayne Turner, who was a member of two collegiate national championship teams and played nine years in professional basketball, has joined the University of Louisville men’s basketball staff as a program assistant.

“Wayne has decided to get into the coaching ranks,” said UofL head coach Rick Pitino. “He’ll be living with our players in Billy Minardi Hall this year, mentoring them off the court. There’s no better person to do that as he played in three straight Final Fours and won two national championships.”

His primary duties with the Cardinals include assisting in opponent scouting through extensive video breakdowns, game preparation and assisting in on-campus recruting efforts.

Turner played two of his four seasons at the University of Kentucky under Pitino when the Wildcats won the 1996 NCAA Championship and reached the championship game in 1997. He was a backcourt starter on Kentucky’s 1998 NCAA title team and finished his career as the NCAA’s all-time leader in games played with 151, a figure which has since been passed.

Turner worked on the UK men’s basketball staff in 2010-11 while completing his undergraduate degree. He is Kentucky’s career leader is steals (238), ranks fourth in career assists (494) and he scored 1,170 career points with the Wildcats. He was an All-SEC selection as a senior and was honored as the 1998 NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player and SEC Tournament MVP that year.

A native of Boston, Turner played nine years of professional basketball, including a year with the Boston Celtics (1999-2000), the Harlem Globetrotters (2000) and seven years with multiple CBA and European teams. He has worked in player development the last two years.

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@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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