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Meg Turner was a pioneer of sorts for girls basketball in Southwest Virginia.
In the modern era of the girls game, she was the area’s first true superstar and graduated with several state records to her credit.
The numbers are impressive.
The 5-foot-10 George Wythe High School standout ended her career with 2,202 points and 1,139 rebounds.
She attempted 742 career free throws – including 232 as a senior – which, at the time of her graduation in 1981, was third all-time nationally.
As a senior, she averaged an unbelievable 32.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.
Yet, it’s not the statistics or accolades that Turner recalls most. It was just the simple moments that accompanied being a student-athlete.
“I remember everything,” Turner said. “How to try to sleep on a school bus late at night coming back from games to crying when we would lose to lying on the sofa with ice on my legs during two-a-day practices in August.
“It was a great experience and I have nothing but fond memories.”
Photo Courtesy of the Bristol Herald Courier
Making of a star
The landscape of girls basketball has changed drastically in the last 30 years.
The AAU circuit, high-profile college teams, growing popularity and expanded media coverage have made it a major part of the sports landscape.
For example, Turner’s already began taking her 5-year-old daughter to youth league practices.
Growing up in Wythe County in the 1970s was different. Turner wasn’t introduced to competitive hoops until she was a sixth grader.
Despite limited opportunities to play organized basketball as a youngster, it didn’t take long for Turner to take to the game. She spent hours of practice honing her wide array of skills.
Friend and former teammate Stacy Phillippi Beamer remembers it well.
“Gosh, I remember we would be in our backyards when we were young, out there playing and practicing,” Beamer said. “We were both very determined and both loved the game.
“She was taller than me and she always beat me. I never could quite match up with her.”
By the time she began suiting up for George Wythe’s varsity team as a freshman, the opposition was uttering the same thing.
Standing nearly 6-feet with the ball-handling skills of a guard and the smooth moves of a post player, Turner could do it all on the court. She was a two-time New River District player of the year and was Region IV’s top player as a senior.
Then there were the points that kept piling up.
Turner said she didn’t feel pressure even though people were expecting her to score 30 or more points every single night.
She tallied 787 points during her senior season alone.
“I don’t think I thought about it,” Turner said. “In high school, you’re pretty young and you just do what you do. I didn’t feel like it was a job or a burden. I remember having fun.”
Victories went along with those points. Under the direction of head coach Pat Burns, GW compiled a 69-23 record over the course of its go-to player’s four-year career.
The Maroons lost in the state semifinals during her senior season and Turner said her lone disappointment was not being able to lead her team to a state title.
However, she left a permanent mark on the state record book and brought a bevy of college coaches to Wytheville on the recruiting trail.
N.C. State, Florida, Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina and countless other major college programs tried to land the talented Turner.
Vanderbilt University won out in the end.
College and beyond
Turner played two seasons for the Commodores and got plenty of playing time, but gave up the sport she loved after her sophomore year to get a more well-rounded college experience.
She graduated from Vandy with honors and then attended graduate school at Harvard.
Since then, Turner’s passed along life lessons to students in the role of educator – first as a teacher and currently as an administrator.
She is principal at Buncombe County Early College in Asheville, N.C., and enjoys her job.
“Education’s been a good place for me,” she said.
Earlier this summer, she participated in a trip to China as part of a teacher exchange with The Center for International Understanding.
And Turner still remains active on the athletic scene – just not on a basketball court. The new challenge is grueling triathlons.
“That’s my love at the moment and it gets my competitive juices flowing,” Turner said. “I do about four or five races every summer.”
However, she hasn’t forgotten her glory days at George Wythe.
“I had a great high school experience and I attribute a lot of who I am as a human being to high school and sports,” Turner said. “I think it did a whole lot in terms of my own development and self-esteem.
“It was a huge part of my adolescence.”
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