Former Hoosier star returns to Bloomington

Times are tough for IU basketball, but former Hoosier Landon Turner knows about even tougher seasons.\nThe 1981 national championship winner visited Opie Taylor's restaurant Thursday to sign copies of his new book, "Landon Turner's Tales from the 1980-81 Indiana Hoosiers."\nThe book recounts the 1980-81 season and the car accident that ended his basketball career. Just four months after winning the national championship, Turner was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident after his vehicle skidded off the road on the way to an Ohio amusement park with several friends.\nThe long road of recovery was tough for Turner to deal with at first, he said, but the Hoosier star graduated from IU and started working at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis as the coordinator of minority affairs.\nTurner said the first game of the 1981-82 season was tough to sit through.\n"My first game back, they announced my name and gave me a standing ovation," he said. "It was happy and sad at the same time, knowing I couldn't play."\nTurner said he was happy to visit the restaurant and enjoys visiting Bloomington.\n"I love coming (to Bloomington)," he said. "I love this town. It brings back memories."\nRestaurant owner Eric Havill, who recently bought the restaurant and gave it more of a sports theme, said having Turner come to speak was a thrill.\n"When he played, I was in fifth or sixth grade," Havill said. "He was one of my favorite players."\nOpie Taylor's has held special events in the past, like a burger-eating contest and a Hurricane Katrina benefit, but has never had a celebrity appearance before.\nHavill said he hoped at least 50 or 60 people would stop by, but said past events have attracted more than 200 patrons. Havill hoped to attract customers by offering several new menu items.\nSitting with a plate of wings and a stack of his books, Turner talked about his one magical season.\n"We struggled a little ways," he remembered. "One thing about us, though, we had confidence. We knew we were the best in the country."\nTurner was a starting forward for IU in the 1980-81 season. That year, the Hoosiers struggled, losing nine games. Turner sparked an incredible turnaround, leading IU to a 10-game winning streak, culminating in a national championship. A teammate of former IU guard and current New York Knicks General Manager Isiah Thomas, Turner was named to the all-tournament team. Turner contributed 12 points and six rebounds before fouling out of the national championship game, which IU won 63-50.\nTurner said he isn't sure this year's team has the same drive to win as his did.\n"To me, this team doesn't have an identity," he said. "They don't know whether they're a perimeter team, an inside team. It's difficult to win without an identity."\nTurner lives in Indianapolis, but finds time to talk to current IU players, mostly the big men.\n"I talk with them about intensity and mentality. They should own the backboards," he said.\nHe has also talked to senior forward Marco Killingsworth about post presence and how to play well in the paint, saying Killingsworth needs to make his moves much faster.\nThough Turner was part of an amazing turnaround, he said he doesn't think the Hoosiers can follow his team's example.\n"On this team, I don't see a leader. You have to have a leader"