Elston Turner transfers from UW basketball team

SEATTLE (AP) -- Washington reserve guard Elston Turner is transferring after becoming a key contributor during the Huskies' NCAA tournament run.

Coach Lorenzo Romar made the announcement Thursday morning. Romar said Turner approached him with the decision earlier this week and that while the decision wasn't shocking, it caught the Huskies coach a little off guard.

"In talking to his dad in the past I know he wanted to be in a position where he was able to do more things out on the basketball floor and it's a process," Romar said on Thursday afternoon. "... It didn't blow me away."

Romar said Turner gave no indications of where he might be headed.

Turner was a major factor in the Huskies' late-season run that saw them win the Pac-10 tournament title and reach the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. Turner hit key baskets late in the Pac-10 title game win over California. He then keyed a second-half rally with 14 points in the Huskies' first-round NCAA upset of Marquette and scored 10 points in a second-round win over New Mexico.

The sophomore from Missouri City, Texas, averaged 4.6 points in 66 career games at Washington. He was also the Huskies' best perimeter shooter, hitting 38 percent of his 3-point attempts. His 41 3-pointers were second on the team this season.

"It was a hard decision," Turner said in a statement from the school. "Coach Romar is like a father to me and I know he is going to support me 100 percent. I appreciate him and my teammates over the last couple years, but I am doing what I feel is best for me."

Turner will remain in school through the spring quarter before returning home. Turner told Seattlepi.com the thought of transferring first entered his mind about midseason.

"You look across the Pac-10 and across the country and this is an age where kids transfer," Romar said. "It starts when they're in sixth grade, their AAU teams, they don't like what they see, they go to another team. With our program now, we've been fortunate enough to get better and recruit a higher level of player, that's something we may see from time to time, guys transferring."

Turner's decision was announced a day after the Huskies received a national letter of intent from 7-foot center Aziz N'Diaye. The 21-year-old native of Dakar, Senegal, played two years ago at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, but missed all of last season with a knee injury. He will be a sophomore when he arrives at Washington.

"When you play in the NCAA Tournament and continue to advance, the one thing you see more and more of is size," Romar said. "Aziz is a seven-footer and definitely fills a need there. At the same time, he is very athletic and can get up-and-down the court."

N'Diaye is the second player to sign with the Huskies for next season. Washington signed forward Desmond Simmons during the fall signing period. Turner's departure would open up one more scholarship for next season.