Transfer PG Josiah Turner spurns SMU, opts to turn pro in Europe or D-League

Former Arizona point guard Josiah Turner, who announced in the spring that he would transfer to SMU after on- and off-the-court issues got him booted off the Wildcats, tells Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports that he has decided to turn pro rather than play for Larry Brown.

"I had to step back and reevaluate what my main goal and my dream was," Turner said. "My dream is to be a professional athlete in the NBA and I think this is what's going to bring me closer to it. In college, you get your degree and everything, but going pro is getting me closer to my dream and what I want to do in life."

Turner, a five-star recruit coming out of high school, will sign with a team in Europe or in the NBA's D-League, having decided that spending two years at SMU wasn't worth his while.

Turner acknowledged that he had drug and alcohol problems last season in Tucson but said it stemmed from his youth and life inexperience.

"My maturity level now is way higher than it was when I was in Arizona," he told Eisenberg. "I was young. I made mistakes. I just learned a lot from last year thinking about where I could be at right now and thinking about the things I did last year. It was all stupid."