Turner to East Carolina; Beatty Dismissed from GW

It appears that Seton Hall's longstanding up-and-down courtship of 6-5 guard Chris Turner is over.

Turner, a North Carolina native currently enrolled at Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, on Thursday signed a Letter of Intent to East Carolina. He had originally committed to Oregon State but de-committed after the coaching change there.

"After taking my visits, I decided that they were the best situation for me," Turner told Texashoops.com. "It's in North Carolina, and I already know a couple of guys on the team already. I'm cool with the coaching staff and (assistant) Coach (Darryl) LaBarrie - he's like a big brother to me so we've got a bond."

Turner cancelled a visit to Florida State and ended his relationship with Seton Hall and Wake Forest, which had shown interest.

"The school is great as it's really big and they've got great people there," Turner said of East Carolina. "And I see myself going in and playing right away and be one of their main guys to depend on. I'm going to bring things to the table defensively as well. I want to be one of the guys the program hasn't seen in a long time."

BEATTY DISMISSED FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON

In other New Jersey hoops news, former St. Anthony standout Miles Beatty, a freshman guard at George Washington, was dismissed along with junior forward Cheyenne Moore.

"Certain expectations are placed on our players both on and off the court," coach Karl Hobbs said in a statement. "They did not meet those expectations. Both Cheyenne and Miles were given every opportunity to succeed here at GW. I wish them both the very best in the future."

Moore, who transferred from Clemson in 2006, appeared in 39 games for the Colonials over two seasons, averaging 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists.

Beatty appeared in 14 games last season, averaging 4.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

(AP contributed)

Comments

[1oldshu]

Adam,

Any inside info on Seton Hall losing Turner? Was he a potential academic risk that we just can't take on at this point given the recent NCAA penalty? Did he think his playing time was too limited with Stix Mitchell eligible this coming season and maybe Jon Mitchell for '09? Please tell me that SHU cooled off on Turner and that we didn't outright lose him to East Carolina. Wake Forest is one thing, at least they're ACC with a solid history.

[Adam Zagoria]

CArlos Wilson, Turner's coach, said the kid just wanted to stay close to family in NC and that he has friends on the team. Seton Hall may also be cracking down on the grades issue a bit, but Wilson said that did not play into it.