LSU guard Ralston Turner to transfer to N.C. State

LSU guard Ralston Turner will transfer to N.C. State, he said Monday. Turner, a 6-6 shooting guard, averaged 10.5 points per game in two seasons at LSU.

Under NCAA rules, he will have to sit out the 2012-13 season but will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried recruited Turner out of Muscle Shoals, Ala. when he was the coach at Alabama.

"I felt like I knew coach Gottfried and I was comfortable with him," Turner said.

Turner gives the Wolfpack some experience and outside shooting for the 2013-14 season. He started 59 games in two seasons with LSU and made 99 of 286 of his 3-pointers. With four available scholarships, and seniors Richard Howell and Scott Wood leaving the program after this season, Gottfried needed to get to work on the '13-14 roster. After taking a visit this past weekend, Turner realized the opportunity to make an impact.

"I saw where I could fit in," Turner said. "I want to come in and help the team any way that I can, that's what me and coach talked about."

Turner said Gottfried's success in his first season with the Wolfpack, 24 wins and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, also helped his decision.

Turner said Gottfried orginally recruited him to Alabama, when Turner was a junior in high school. Turner ended up choosing LSU over Alabama and Notre Dame. He averaged 12.3 points per game for coach Trent Johnson in 2010-11 and 9.1 last season. Johnson left LSU for Texas Christian after the season, which left Turner exploring his options.

LSU hired Johnny Jones, a one-time assistant of Gottfried's at Alabama, to replace Johnson. Turner said the coaching change wasn't the reason he left the SEC school.

"It wasn't the coaching change that ran me off," Turner said. "I just had a change of heart about LSU."

- J.P. Giglio