‘Triple-double DaiJa’
Turner rewriting history at Village Christian
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
It didn’t take long for DaiJa Turner to earn a nickname at Village Christian Academy.
In her debut for the Knights — a 43-18 win against Fayetteville Academy on Nov. 15 — the 6-foot-3 junior scored 31 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.
“Triple-double Daija,” Turner said with a smile on Tuesday night.
“They called me that after the first game.”
Through 12 games, she’s lived up to that moniker with eight triple-double performances.
“I’m someone who has a lot of motivation and support behind me,” said Turner, who is averaging a triple double with 20.4 points, 19.8 rebounds and 10.2 blocks per game.
“I don’t settle for anything less. I always want to push and be better. I know I can be better.”
Turner, a military kid who started her prep career at Daegu High School in South Korea, makes it look easy on thecourt.Butshe’squickto point out that she puts in the practice time.
“It’s definitely not easy,” she added. “I’ve put in a lot of work and I’m just very grateful and thankful for the skills that I have. I’m trying to get better and be the best.”
Turner, who was born in Fayetteville, is still adjusting to the speed of the game in North Carolina.
“From the start of my freshman year when I was playing overseas in Korea, the pace of it is completely different from over here,” she said.
“It’s more fundamental and not speed, so when I came back over here something I really wanted to focus on was my pace and playing physical.”
She excelled in both of those areas on Tuesday evening in Village’s 64-15 win at Freedom Christian Academy.
Turner, who towered over the other nine players on the court, finished the night with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks and five steals for the Knights (8-6, 3-2).
“I’ve coached a lot of good players in this area and this region,” said Village coach Kelvin Mills, who is in his 18th season with the program.
“She has a perfect attitude, she’s a good student and she’s humble. I like coaching humble players and she’s done some things already that put her on the market.”
Mills said Turner is having a season comparable to those of former Village standout Hillary Summers, who owns a plethora of records for the Knights.
Turner pulled down a program-record 28 rebounds against Northwood Temple on Jan. 10 and had a program-record 15 blocks against Cape Fear Academy earlier this season. She’s also surpassed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career.
“She’s going to definitely leave here as one of the — like (former Terry Sanford star) Shea Ralph and Hillary Summers — top regional players of all time,” Mills said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind.”
The first time he saw Turner, Mills remembers being grateful for having a player with “tremendous talent” on his side.
“The first thing that went through my mind is I’ve been living right,” he said with a laugh.
“God had blessed me. ... Now it’s a challenge for me to coach her and make her better. When you get a good player, it really challenges you as a coach.”
Despite Turner’s gaudy numbers, Mills still sees a load of potential in the junior, who continues to expand her game with her patience and timing in the post. Mills saw an example of Turner’s growth earlier this season.
“One night, at halftime, DaiJa hadn’t scored a single point, but she had rebounds and blocks,” he recalled.
“She was almost in tears, but I just told her to go to a happy place and focus. In the second half, I think she had 21 points. That story just reminds me of how she can commit herself. She won’t giveup,she’snotaquitter.” Turner's ultimate goal is to help the Knights win a conference championship. She knows the importance of her role in helping Village make that a reality.
“For me, I just want to do better,” she said.
After what she’s accomplished in her junior season, the thought of a “better” Turner is downright terrifying.
“She’s grown in a lot of areas, but the potential is there to be even better,” Mills said.
“She can leave Village Christian as the best we’ve ever had and we’ve had some good ones.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.
Turner rewriting history at Village Christian
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
It didn’t take long for DaiJa Turner to earn a nickname at Village Christian Academy.
In her debut for the Knights — a 43-18 win against Fayetteville Academy on Nov. 15 — the 6-foot-3 junior scored 31 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.
“Triple-double Daija,” Turner said with a smile on Tuesday night.
“They called me that after the first game.”
Through 12 games, she’s lived up to that moniker with eight triple-double performances.
“I’m someone who has a lot of motivation and support behind me,” said Turner, who is averaging a triple double with 20.4 points, 19.8 rebounds and 10.2 blocks per game.
“I don’t settle for anything less. I always want to push and be better. I know I can be better.”
Turner, a military kid who started her prep career at Daegu High School in South Korea, makes it look easy on thecourt.Butshe’squickto point out that she puts in the practice time.
“It’s definitely not easy,” she added. “I’ve put in a lot of work and I’m just very grateful and thankful for the skills that I have. I’m trying to get better and be the best.”
Turner, who was born in Fayetteville, is still adjusting to the speed of the game in North Carolina.
“From the start of my freshman year when I was playing overseas in Korea, the pace of it is completely different from over here,” she said.
“It’s more fundamental and not speed, so when I came back over here something I really wanted to focus on was my pace and playing physical.”
She excelled in both of those areas on Tuesday evening in Village’s 64-15 win at Freedom Christian Academy.
Turner, who towered over the other nine players on the court, finished the night with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks and five steals for the Knights (8-6, 3-2).
“I’ve coached a lot of good players in this area and this region,” said Village coach Kelvin Mills, who is in his 18th season with the program.
“She has a perfect attitude, she’s a good student and she’s humble. I like coaching humble players and she’s done some things already that put her on the market.”
Mills said Turner is having a season comparable to those of former Village standout Hillary Summers, who owns a plethora of records for the Knights.
Turner pulled down a program-record 28 rebounds against Northwood Temple on Jan. 10 and had a program-record 15 blocks against Cape Fear Academy earlier this season. She’s also surpassed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career.
“She’s going to definitely leave here as one of the — like (former Terry Sanford star) Shea Ralph and Hillary Summers — top regional players of all time,” Mills said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind.”
The first time he saw Turner, Mills remembers being grateful for having a player with “tremendous talent” on his side.
“The first thing that went through my mind is I’ve been living right,” he said with a laugh.
“God had blessed me. ... Now it’s a challenge for me to coach her and make her better. When you get a good player, it really challenges you as a coach.”
Despite Turner’s gaudy numbers, Mills still sees a load of potential in the junior, who continues to expand her game with her patience and timing in the post. Mills saw an example of Turner’s growth earlier this season.
“One night, at halftime, DaiJa hadn’t scored a single point, but she had rebounds and blocks,” he recalled.
“She was almost in tears, but I just told her to go to a happy place and focus. In the second half, I think she had 21 points. That story just reminds me of how she can commit herself. She won’t giveup,she’snotaquitter.” Turner's ultimate goal is to help the Knights win a conference championship. She knows the importance of her role in helping Village make that a reality.
“For me, I just want to do better,” she said.
After what she’s accomplished in her junior season, the thought of a “better” Turner is downright terrifying.
“She’s grown in a lot of areas, but the potential is there to be even better,” Mills said.
“She can leave Village Christian as the best we’ve ever had and we’ve had some good ones.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.
