From the very first day he set foot on campus, Evan Turner dreamt of leaving Columbus for the fame and fortune of professional basketball. But those dreams were quickly put on hold.
“Once you get here it’s so tough,” Turner said. “I had the roughest time ever here and I wasn’t sure I could play at this level. I definitely wasn’t ready for college. I was like, ‘Man I can’t do anything.'”
Three years later, Turner has gone from “can’t do anything” to “capable of everything.” The Buckeye point guard has turned in one of the best seasons in school history and has his team in position for something he has had his sights set on since his freshman year: a Big Ten championship.
Tonight, Ohio State takes on Illinois and with a win the Buckeyes can clinch at least a share of the conference championship. A title would be the first for the program since 2007 and, perhaps more importantly, a first for Turner. But as the potential championship weighs heavily on the minds of Buckeye fans, an even bigger question looms.
Is this the last time we’ll see Evan Turner play at the Schottenstein Center?
Turner is considered by many as the front-runner in the race for the National Player of the Year award and would likely be a top five pick in the NBA Draft if he chose to enter. The thought of leaving school early was something that Turner admits he considered a year ago.
“When I first found out I could [leave school early], I thought, ‘You know that’d be cool.'”
And who could blame him? Just like any other student at OSU, Turner isn’t living a glamorous lifestyle. He doesn’t live in a big house, he doesn’t drive a fancy car and he certainly doesn’t have anywhere near the bankroll that would come with an NBA contract.
The chance to leave Columbus for the fame and fortune of the NBA is one that a typical college basketball player would jump at. Just ask Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Kosta Koufos or B.J. Mullens.
But if there’s one thing Turner has shown in his three years in Columbus, it’s that he is far from the typical college basketball player.
“What really just stuck in me was, you know I haven’t really done anything here,” Turner said. “I haven’t left my mark. Not winning a Big Ten title or anything like that, that would have nagged me for the rest of my life. I didn’t really accomplish anything in college and that’s why I came back.”
And that’s exactly what has set him apart. He didn’t come to college and treat the university as a mere stepping stone to a professional career. He isn’t at OSU to simply draw the attention of NBA scouts.
Turner has, or at least appears to have, a genuine interest in winning at the college level.
“His focus now is on becoming the best basketball player he can become and knowing that, if he does that, we’ve got a better basketball team,” coach Thad Matta said. “I’m grateful for him doing that because it hasn’t been easy. Every time you pick up the magazine or turn on the TV, they’re talking about him. It’s just a tribute to him and who he is as a person.”
Matta has often been forced to deal with the speculation of one or more of his players prematurely leaving the program. One reporter went so far as to dub him the “national expert” on players bolting for the NBA.
But for Matta, Turner has provided a welcome change.
“He’s done a fabulous job of keeping the focus on the right things,” Matta said. “You look at how he’s developed, how he’s matured over the course of a three year span. To me that’s exciting because I think that we as a program, we as a university have really helped him develop and that’s something that I enjoy seeing.”
Like Matta, junior forward David Lighty has been around long enough to see many of his teammates head to the NBA. Now in his fourth year in the program, Lighty has been witness to five different Buckeyes who forewent their college eligibility and opted to enter the draft.
Lighty admits that his time in Columbus has been, “kind of wild,” in regards to the number of changes his team’s have undergone, but acknowledged that it’s all part of the process. He said that his advice to those considering the jump has always been the same.
“I just tell them to do what’s best for them and their families,” Lighty said. “A lot of people dream of going to the NBA so you can’t deny someone their dream if they had the opportunity to go do it.”
That is not to say, however, that Lighty doesn’t want to see Turner return for his senior season.
“Of course you would love them to come back,” Lighty said. “But it’s kind of like being selfish if you say, ‘you don’t love us if you leave’ and stuff like that.”
Turner admitted that the result of tonight’s game could impact his decision. He said that if the Buckeyes were to lose and miss out on a Big Ten title that there is a “greater chance” that he’ll be back for another year, but joked that he still would like for the fans to cheer for an OSU victory.
And because tonight’s game will mark the final home game of the season, Turner will be witness to all of the festivities of senior night at the Schottenstein Center. OSU will honor five players who are playing their final games in Columbus, but naturally the majority of the discussion is centered on a possible sixth.
The questions regarding Turner’s future are far from over, but as long as the Buckeyes are still competing for a conference and potential national championship, Turner has no intention of making a decision any time soon.
“I don’t want to have one foot out the door and think too far into the future,” Turner said. “You really have to take care of what you have right now. When you do stuff out of order, that’s when everything gets messed up.”
Whether he decides to leave or stay, Turner said he can’t go wrong.
“If I stay it definitely wouldn’t hurt,” Turner said. “I’d get better as a basketball player and keep maturing as a person. You just have to really consider everything, but no matter what it should be fine.”
