Making up for Rigadeau

[MavKikiNYC]

For Gonzaga's Turiaf, Long Journey Isn't Done
By VITTORIO TAFUR

Published: February 14, 2004


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13 — The beach was inviting and beautiful, and that was a problem. The time for fun in the sun had passed. Ronny Turiaf knew he had to work and take care of his family, so he packed his bags, kissed his loved ones goodbye and left his home in Le Robert, Martinique.

He was 15.

Turiaf left Martinique, a French island in the West Indies, to attend the National Institute of Physical Education in Paris for three years. The move to focus on basketball was the right one, he believes now. Turiaf, a 6-foot-9, 243-pound junior forward, is 21 and the leading scorer for the seventh-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. He will most likely be a first-round pick in the N.B.A. draft this summer or next, then there will be a payoff for seeing his parents and two sisters for only four or five months in the last six years.

"It is hard to be on your own and leave your childhood behind," Turiaf said after Gonzaga's 71-48 victory at the University of San Francisco on Thursday night. "I was so young and didn't have any background in anything. My parents were sad to see their big baby leave home, but they saw how excited I was when I was invited to go, and they were very supportive."

In 2000, Turiaf teamed with Tony Parker, who is now the San Antonio Spurs' starting point guard, for France, scoring the winning basket in overtime in the final of the under-18 European championships. North Carolina, Connecticut, Miami and Florida State, among others, recruited him.

That he ended up in Spokane, Wash., says something about the ascension of Gonzaga's program. This is no longer a bunch of overachievers who thrive in the N.C.A.A. tournament. Turiaf and point guard Blake Stepp are two of the best players in the country, center Cory Violette plays like a bouncer with soft hands and Gonzaga is 20-2. The Bulldogs have a 13-game winning streak and are beating teams by an average of 17 points.

"It is a great place to vibe as a basketball player, to improve your skills and go to class and learn," said Turiaf, whose first name is pronounced Row-NEE. "I am so blessed to have teammates that push me to work harder and get better."

They are blessed to have Turiaf, whose quick-jumping ability and relentlessness in the paint make Gonzaga better on both ends of the court. And if he is pushed to the outside, as San Francisco managed to do a couple of times on Thursday, he shows a soft jumper from 18 feet. He is averaging 15.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots and is shooting 55.4 percent.

Gonzaga's losses were against the only remaining undefeated teams, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 St. Joseph's. And Turiaf played only five minutes against St. Joseph's because of a sore toe.

"He dominates games with his athleticism and strength," Santa Clara Coach Dick Davey said. "He's become a lot better basketball player because he understands the game and has a better feel for things."

Turiaf has put on 40 pounds and blossomed in his three years at Gonzaga. He has gone from a confused freshman with poor English skills to an outgoing person who Coach Mark Few says could run for mayor and win easily. Turiaf now speaks four languages — English, Creole, French and Spanish — is studying Italian and says he plans to learn Japanese.

"That is going to be hard, but fun," Turiaf said. "Why do I do it? I want to be smart. I want to go to different countries and impress them."

On the court, he has learned to play with his back to the basket and has taken on more of a leadership role. The next step, Few said, is to dominate. All the time.

"He has a chance to be the best player in college basketball next year," Few said. "That is our challenge, to help him become the man. He has that kind of special ability."

Whether he returns to Gonzaga next season is the question, though not a pressing one.

"I never said I was thinking about leaving early in the first place," Turiaf said. "Basketball is my job, but I love it. I love going to practice and getting better. I love my school and my team. That is good enough for right now."

But in the back of his mind, there is an N.B.A. logo in flashing lights. He did not sacrifice his family life to wind up with a regular job, and the payoff is close enough that he can think about providing for his parents and hugging his 8- and 15-year-old sisters again.

"He loves them very deeply and it hurts him not to be there," Few said. "He wishes he was there to beat up guys knocking on his oldest sister's door."

Opposing college power forwards will suffice for a while longer.

[twelli]

I thought this was about our old Gitanes pal Riga La Dude. Is he still in the NBA? And if, can we get him back in the next NVE deal?