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The upbringing: Two 1984-85 Tigers came so far from so little

By  and , Daily Memphian Updated: March 15, 2025 12:21 PM CT | Published: March 15, 2025 4:00 AM CT

Andre Turner felt a knot in his stomach the moment he saw the ambulance outside his childhood home.

It was early February 1985, and the then-junior guard had grabbed a ride from Memphis State’s campus to visit his parents and siblings who stayed about 20 minutes away.

Turner walked through the front door and, in a panic, asked his mother what had happened.

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Memphis Tigers Basketball William Bedford Andre Turner Subscriber Only

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Tim Buckley

Tim Buckley

Tim is a veteran sportswriter who graduated from CBHS in Memphis and the University of Missouri. He previously covered LSU sports in Baton Rouge, and the University of Louisiana football and basketball for The Daily Advertiser/USA TODAY Network in Lafayette, the NBA’s Utah Jazz for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, and West Texas State basketball for the Amarillo Globe News in Texas.

Parth Upadhyaya

Parth Upadhyaya

Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.


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