Wayne Turner fires a field goal in Kentucky's victory against Auburn last weekend. (AP)
	ZOOM

Vision.

It's a quality common to the best point guards, those who grasp the game with both hands and narrate its pace. Those who see the swirl of action around them and process the possibilities like IBM's Deep Blue.

The vision which delivered Kentucky senior Wayne Turner to the brink of basketball immortality -- he could soon break an NCAA record for games played and perhaps tie one for most Final Fours -- has more to do with life lessons than layups.

"Growing up, he would hang around the (Mission Hill) Rec Center all day, but then he'd go straight home to his grandmother's," said Turner's godfather, Thomas Johnson Jr., who ran the Boston-area center. "He would stay out of trouble so he wouldn't get kicked out.

"He probably saw ahead. Basketball was his love, and it was his ticket to great things."

These great things: Three Final Fours. Two national championships. A 78-14 record as a starter. A probable professional career.

If UK beats New Mexico State on Friday, its game Sunday would be Turner's 149th, breaking the collegiate mark of 148 set by Duke's Christian Laettner.

Four more victories, and he'll become just the fourth player to play in four Final Fours, following Duke's Greg Koubek (1988-91), Brian Davis ('89-92) and Laettner ('89-92).

Given his history, Turner can will the Wildcats there. Gentle and genteel off the court, he has annually raised his production in the postseason. For the sport's shyest guy, his play speaks plenty loud.

"If Reggie Jackson is Mr. October, Wayne has gotta be Mr. March," UK play-by-play announcer Ralph Hacker said. "He plays so well under pressure. If you tell Wayne it's the end of the line unless you answer the call, he'll answer the call."

The call has come for nearly two decades. His parents, too young when they had him and his three siblings, had to turn them over to Turner's grandmother, Virginia Kimble. Wayne was 5, growing up fast in a rugged neighborhood in Roxbury, Mass.

He learned his health and welfare depended on obeying Kimble and Johnson. To those two, he began a silent devotion.

"My grandmother's been there basically all my life," Turner said. "She taught me the qualities of being a young man, how to take care of myself. I really never had a problem listening to her or my godparents."

Johnson took the supervisor's job at the rec center after everyone else refused the post. He laid down ground rules -- no profanity, arguing or loud music -- and helped mold young lives for 17 years before retiring. The center is now named for him.

From age 8, Turner was there each day at 2 p.m.

	ONE GOOD TURNER
	Some stats on Kentucky senior Wayne Turner: • Currently 37th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,125 points. • Holds UK record for career steals (233). • His 470 career assists are tied with Kyle Macy for fifth-most in school history. • He's the first Wildcat to ever top 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals during a career.

"After his game developed, he would stay until 10 p.m. every day," Johnson said. "I'd have to run him out."

Turner says he takes after his grandmother, who is quite quiet. When Johnson and Boston police officer Al Rue helped get him in Beaver Country Day prep school as a seventh grader, Turner didn't say a word for two or three months. Even when called upon in class.

Gradually, educators there grasped what folks at UK would later: Wayne's hesitancy in new surroundings and fear of failure.

"At Senior Night (two weeks ago), I went up to him before the game and asked him what his first remembrance of Rupp Arena was," Hacker said. "Wayne said, ŒI was scared to death. And I'm still scared to death.' "

Turner was a first-team Parade and McDonald's All-American at Beaver Country Day, averaging 36.1 points and 10.1 assists his senior season. But at UK, he had to muster courage anew. Asked if it took work to become a vocal leader, Turner said, "A year and a half."

He became point guard for good two years ago when then-coach Rick Pitino made a rare late-season lineup shift. After Turner steered UK to the NCAA finals, Pitino called him "the key to our season."

"That was a turning point in my career," Turner said. "It was one of the chances I had been waiting for."

Last year, he earned Southeastern Conference Tournament and South Region MVP honors. He rescued UK in the pulsating comeback victory over Duke, totaling 16 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals with just one turnover.

"I wouldn't take another point guard in the country than Wayne Turner," UK coach Tubby Smith said. "He's never had a bad practice. He hates when you sub for him in a game. He's like that bunny, man. He just keeps going."

Besides big-time basketball, it's a vanilla life. Turner bowls and plays cards. He needs just four classes to complete his social work degree.

The lasting image is of classic calm. On the court, blowing past a defender in the closing minutes. In the locker room, humbly mumbling praise for everyone but himself.

There are team players. Then there is Turner, who broke the mold.

"Look what happened when (Myron) Anthony took his car out and wrecked it," Hacker said. "I would have exploded if I were him. But Wayne just said, 'That's life, things happen.' He's got a maturity beyond his years."

Ask anyone at UK, and they'll say the school is lucky to have had him. But Turner laughs at the thought.

"I've got my college education, got to play the sport I love and won two championships," he said. "I think I had the better deal."