SPORTING MAVS

KT Turner: A Player’s Coach

UTA men’s basketball welcomes KT Turner as 10th head coach

KT Turner has never really known a world without basketball in it. His dad, a longtime Division I and junior college basketball coach, instilled in him a love for the game—and an appreciation for the role a good coach can play in an athlete’s life.

“I knew from a young age that I wanted to do what he did, probably when I was around 11 or 12 years old,” Turner says. “It definitely started with my dad.”

Turner, who was officially introduced as UTA’s 10th head coach for men’s basketball in March, joins UTA from the University of Kentucky, where he served as assistant coach. This past year, Turner helped guide the Wildcats to a 20-win campaign and a record 60th NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to his stay at Kentucky, he served one-season stints as associate head coach at both the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas. In 2012-13, he was an assistant coach for Wichita State, helping lead the Shockers to a Final Four appearance, the team’s first since 1965. Turner is known as an excellent recruiter, with deep, longstanding ties to the talent pool in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Director of Athletics Jon Fagg says Turner easily distinguished himself in a competitive pool of candidates.

“KT will bring a fresh perspective and an exceptional overall pedigree embedded with deep Texas roots,” Fagg says. “He is a stalwart coach who is highly regarded and respected among his peers and former players. Additionally, he’s a wonderful person who was raised with a servant mindset and will work tirelessly to raise the profiles of our student-athletes.”

While Turner is new to the UTA campus in a professional capacity, it’s not the first time he’s called himself a Maverick. He was recruited to play for the men’s basketball team as a student-athlete in junior college.

“Prior to my visit, I had never stepped foot in the Metroplex before,” he says. “And after that visit, I just absolutely loved it. Plus, I really liked all the guys on the team. And that’s what ultimately made me come here.”

Though Turner’s time at UTA was cut short by a severe ankle injury, the bond he formed with his teammates, who all lived together at Centennial Court and enjoyed playing basketball just for fun at courts all over the Metroplex, would cement a major part of his ethos as a coach: “We have to come in as a team and leave as a family.”

In fact, that bonding is key to his approach to finding success as a coach and building excellence for the team.

“You have to spend time with them—they need to know how much you care,” he says. “You absolutely have to take the time to build those relationships.”

Looking ahead, Turner says he’s also going to be focused on helping his players build their confidence on the court. He hopes that the Maverick community, students and alumni alike, will come out to support them.

“If our alumni come, they’re going to see an exciting style of basketball and they’re going to see some hard-playing athletes,” he says. “For our team, the more fans you have, the more excitement, and the better they’re going to play. Of course, it starts with us. We have to do our part, and that’s winning.”