Robert C. Turner Jr. Named MCC Women’s Basketball Coach

MANCHESTER, Conn. – Robert C. Turner Jr., a former player and assistant coach at Manchester Community College, has been named women’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Director of Athletics Cynthia Washburne announced today.

“We are delighted that Robert will remain a part of the MCC family,” Washburne said. “He is passionate, energetic, tireless and a great communicator. He understands what it means to be a student-athlete at this college and will serve as a wonderful influence for our women’s basketball players. I have no doubt that Robert will bring our program to an even higher level than it’s been in the past.”

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Turner said. “It’s been great learning under coach [Peter] Harris. He’s one of the better coaches I’ve worked with as a player and as an assistant. It’s definitely an exciting time. I’m just ready to take the program to its next level and continue its success.”

Turner, a Bloomfield, Conn., native, averaged 12.6 points per game as a guard on the 1997-1998 MCC men’s basketball team. He scored 20 or more points five times, including a career-high 25 versus Quinsigamond Community College on Dec. 27, 1997.

Turner served as the lead assistant women’s basketball coach from 2001-2005 under then-coach Peter Harris, who resigned on March 10. Harris (43-41 overall) revived a dormant program in 1999 and led the Cougars to four National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Region XXI Women’s Basketball Tournament appearances in four varsity seasons.

The Cougars went 38-33 in Turner’s three seasons with the program, including the 15-13 team that reached the NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals in 2001-2002.

A 1995 Bloomfield High School graduate, Turner started as a point guard/shooting guard in boys basketball for two seasons and as a wide receiver, safety and punter in football as a senior. The Warhawks reached the Class S football championship game in Turner’s junior and senior seasons.

Turner received an associate’s degree in general studies from MCC in 1998, a bachelor of arts in sociology with an emphasis in stratification from Hampton (Va.) University in 2000 and a master’s degree in social work (MSW) from the University of Connecticut-West Hartford with a concentration in community organization and group work with an substantive area in urban studies in 2002.