Immediately after his junior season ended, Gaylon Turner went to work getting ready for his final year of high school basketball.

The Warren Central star had been good. He wanted to be great.

“After my 11th-grade season, the day after we lost, I went straight to the track and started running and preparing for my senior year. That’s how this happened,” he said.

“This” was the moment he shared with family and friends Thursday in the Warren Central football fieldhouse when he celebrated getting the chance to play college basketball. Turner has signed with East Central Community College, and will play there next season.

“It feels good,” Turner said. “This has been a lifelong journey. It’s been my goal since I started playing basketball and it’s finally here. I’m excited.”

Turner has been a three-year starter — and a three-year star — for the Vikings. He averaged 17.1 points per game and earned Vicksburg Post All-County honors in each of his first two varsity seasons, then took his game up a level as a senior.

Turner led Warren County in scoring with 23.4 points per game, while also averaging 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.1 steals. He topped the 1,000-point mark for his career and was honored for the feat at the Vikings’ final home game.

“He stayed the course. He stayed humble, stayed hungry,” Warren Central coach Keith Williams said.

Turner’s steady performance throughout his high school career put him on the radar of several college programs. In addition to East Central, he was being recruited by Hinds Community College and Tougaloo College.

He picked East Central because he said it was the best fit.

“When I went to their camps and stuff, they treated me like family and I like it up there. That’s why I chose them,” Turner said.

Now, Turner added, he’s ready to show the Warriors what he can do as their point guard of the future. He’s also ready to earn another scholarship to a four-year school in the near future.

“It feels good to know that I’m capable of doing good things on the basketball court and playing on the next level,” Turner said. “I’m going to go to college, continue to put in the work, and hopefully I get to the next level.”