ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam — At the ripe old age of 40, Gerry Turner looks like he could still suit up and rack up 30 points a game, sink five three-pointers, maybe even throw down a couple of dunks for his Yokosuka Seahawks of Japan.

But as well conditioned as the former All-Navy swingman and three-time Navy Western Pacific Regional Tournament MVP might be, he’d rather spend his time mentoring than playing.

“My days are over,” said the chief petty officer from Milwaukee who’s on his third tour to Japan, assigned to Yokosuka Naval Base.

Speaking before a Friday playoff game during last week’s March Madness Open Tournament, Turner said: “It’s time for me to teach some things I’ve learned, such as working together and the benefits from it.”

If Turner, who’s coached the Seahawks for the past two seasons, sounds “old school” — and his players to a man agree he is — it’s because he enjoyed his days of playing glory during an era when basketball idols carried names like Magic, Larry and Michael.

He played for arguably the Pacific’s best company level team, U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka. Suiting up alongside center James Little, guards Mike Henry and Carlos Jones and power forward Vince Wray, the Eagles dominated the WestPac tournament, winning it from 1989-91, with Turner as MVP.

Subdued and introverted, Turner never sought individual glory, instead passing on the credit to the team, which he insists still stands as the most important part of what he feels has become an individual game, whether it be the NBA, the college game or at the military level.

“Back then, we won together. We played hard,” he said. “You could score four points, but if you did the right things, your team would win. Today, players are selfish. You come off the floor and say, ‘Hey, I scored 30 points and I made a dunk!’ But your team lost the game.”

It’s a mentality, he says, that’s fueled by the likes of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Ron Artest, who appear to be more about themselves than playing the game, and fueled by programs such as ESPN SportsCenter.

“I don’t like to see that stuff,” Turner said of things such as monster jams, crossover dribbles, taunting and fights in the stands. “It’s ruining the game. You see it out here. The kids come out to play and a lot of their fundamentals are gone.”

Turner grew up idolizing guys such as Bobby Jones of Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets fame, unselfish workaday players. It’s something he wishes he could see more of in military ball.

“I stress basic fundamentals,” he said. “Play hard. Basic old-school ball still wins games. In high school, the teams that gave us the worst time were the ones who played fundamental ball and didn’t make mistakes.”

To talk to his players, one would think Turner on occasion would like to get out on the floor and show his charges what he tells them.

“Once you have basketball in your blood, it stays with you,” said Yokosuka’s three-point specialist Henry “Skinny” Grays.

Turner can be hard on his players, Grays said, “but we all learn a lot from him.”

“He’s got some tricks. Little things, calling out the picks, court awareness, boxing out, stuff you forget about. He stresses going all out for 40 minutes and close the games out as a team. Stop being selfish. Pass the ball. Give it up.”

Turner hopes that by teaching “old-school” basics to his players, they in turn will pass it on to those who come after.

“No matter where we finish here, hopefully the guys will get something out of it and share it with a younger guy later on, as people did with me and as I’m doing with them,” Turner said.

2005 March Madness Open Tournament

At Coral Reef Fitness and Sports Complex, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam

Double-elimination playoffs

Men

Friday’s games

Andersen Air Force Base B, Guam, 2, Heat, Okinawa, 0, forfeit

Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, 79, USS Frank Cable, Guam, 76

Andersen Air Force Base A, Guam, 90, Team Guam 72

Spotlight, Okinawa, 92, Ace Hardware, Guam, 88

Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 121, Andersen B 98

USS Frank Cable 2, Heat 0, forfeit; Heat eliminated

Ace Hardware 98, Team Guam 80; Team Guam eliminated

Spotlight 89, Andersen A 83

Saturday’s games

Game 9: Yokosuka vs. Camp Humphreys

Game 10: USS Frank Cable vs. Game 9 loser

Game 11: Ace Hardware vs. Andersen A

Game 12: Spotlight vs. Game 9 winner

Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner

Game 14: Game 12 loser vs. Game 13 winner

Game 15: Game 12 winner vs. Game 14 winner

Game 16: Game 12 winner vs. Game 14 winner if Game 12 winner loses Game 15

Friday’s summaries

Yokosuka 79, USS Frank Cable 76

Halftime:USS Frank Cable 45-41. Leading scorers: Yokosuka, Henry Grays 19 (four three-point goals), Nate Burnett 18, Michael Gay 15; USS Frank Cable, Jermane Lee 23 (three three-point goals), Joshua Jones 22.

Andersen A 90, Team Guam 72

Halftime:Andersen A 47-38. Leading scorers: Andersen A, Mike Walters 26 (seven three-point goals), Cliff Claybrooks 14, Anthony Wilson 14, Marvin Harris 12, William Watkins 10; Team Guam, John Chaco 21, E.J. Calvo 21.

Spotlight 92, Ace Hardware 88

Halftime:Spotlight 47-27. Leading scorers: Spotlight, Joshua Reaser 30, Charles Williams 17, Justin Brown 13 (second half), Tony Winters 10; Ace, Fred Peters 34, J.P. Cruz 22 (six three-point goals), Reggie Rechebong 14.

Camp Humphreys 121, Andersen B 98

Halftime:Camp Humphreys 66-38. Leading scorers: Camp Humphreys, Wallace Ruffin 27 (22 first half), Ronald Bartley 17 (all first half, five three-point goals), Sam Dixon 14 (11 second half); Andersen B, Richard McDaniels 35 (29 second half), Jeremy Felton 14, Melvin Haley 14.

Ace Hardware 98, Team Guam 80

Halftime:Ace Hardware 44-37. Leading scorers: Ace Hardware, J.P. Cruz 20 (16 second half), Cabral 16, Rechebong 14, Vitug 14, Danny Cepeda 12; Team Guam, E.J. Calvo 17, Kin Charfaurus 14, Sandy Fejeran 13, Scott Stern 13.

Spotlight 89, Andersen A 83

Halftime:Spotlight 48-39. Leading scorers: Spotlight, Charles Williams 29 (24 first half, four three-point goals), Chris Carter 23 (18 second half), Joshua Reaser 12, Justin Brown 11; Andersen A, Mike Walters 22 (three three-point goals), Marvin Harris 14, Anthony Wilson 10, Damien Seals 10.

Women

Friday’s games

Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, 66, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 47

Osan Air Base, South Korea, 70, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 37

Andersen 67, Camp Humphreys 62; Camp Humphreys eliminated

Kunsan 76, Osan 68

Osan 67, Andersen 36; Andersen eliminated

Saturday’s games

Game 6: Kunsan vs. Osan

Game 7: Kunsan vs. Osan, if Kunsan loses Game 6

Friday’s summaries

Kunsan 66, Camp Humphreys 47

Halftime:Kunsan 33-29. Leading scorers: Kunsan, Shanaysha Walker 24, Amoni Suttice 15, Sasha Lewis 13; Camp Humphreys, Niesha Wingster 18 (12 second half).

Osan 70, Andersen 37

Halftime: Osan 39, Andersen 17. Leading scorers: Osan, Arlitha Ivey 30, Jessica Garcia 12; Andersen, Pamela Haley 9.

Andersen 67, Camp Humphreys 62

Halftime: Andersen 34-28. Leading scorers: Andersen, Pamela Haley 19 (three three-point goals), Porsche Jones 14, Jackie Street 14; Camp Humphreys, Niesha Wingster 16, Sandra Hernandez 16 (13 second half), Elisa Bamba 13.

Kunsan 76, Osan 68

Halftime: Kunsan 35-28. Leading scorers: Kunsan, Amoni Suttice 28, Shanaysha Walker 16, Kim Elliott 16; Osan, Arlitha Ivey 15, Kazue Dancer 14, Tonya Holmes 10 (all second half).

Osan 67, Andersen 36

Halftime: Osan 27-19. Leading scorers: Osan, Tonya Holmes 16 (12 second half), Jessica Garcia 11 (all first half, three three-point goals), Kazue Dancer 10, Theresa Moss 10 (second half), Latore Sanders 10; Andersen, Porsche Jones 13 (11 first half).

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