A Budding Superstar?

Probably an inappropriate title given that Buckeye Nation probably saw the "budding" of this superstar more than a year ago ... but Evan Turner is now a much-talked about budding superstar on the national media stage.

Evan Turner collected his third-consecutive weekly Big Ten Player of the Week honor after leading the No. 18 Ohio State men’s basketball team to a pair of wins last week. On 11/24/09, the junior guard recorded Ohio State's third all-time triple double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to propel the Bucks past Lipscomb, 84-64. Evan Turner, a Chicago native, now owns two triple-doubles on the year, making him one of just 34 NCAA student-athletes all-time to record multiple triple-doubles in a single season.

With the effort against the Bisons, he also becomes the first Buckeye to open the season with five-consecutive double-double performances since Clark Kellogg in 1980. Turner continued his scoring prowess in Saturday's contest against St. Francis, adding 16 in OSU's 110-47 rout over the Red Flash, becoming the 44th Buckeye in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.

On the week, Turner averaged nine rebounds, eight assists and 16 points on 71.4% shooting.

Turner has been called upon this season to embrace the point guard position as the Bucks' roster lacks a starter at the position. Spelled by PJ Hill who comes off the bench as a viable 6th man, Turner then rotates to the 2 or 3 position and remains in the game. With the exception of the past 2 blow-out games, Turner rarely leaves the floor and has typically played all 40 minutes. While this bolsters his stats, the fitness of Turner is apparent this year as he has worked hard to avoid the turnovers that plagued his play last season in similar 40-minute bouts. Turner had a tough game vs. UNC where he had double figures in the turnover stat, but in other games this season, he has been careful with the ball and has improved his decision-making and ball handling.

Notice that Coach Matta has moved back to his man-on-man defensive scheme, a scheme that served him well with previous squads and at previous coaching venues. Last year, however, the Bucks relied largely on a zone defense and with a squad of all returners from 2008-2009, the Bucks can revert to a zone when necessary to stop a hot shooting team. Lighty has also returned from his broken foot in 2008 - recall that the Bucks started 7-0 until Lighty went down and while the season was a winning season, most feel that the 2008-9 record was ultimately a disappointing one. Lighty has already made his mark with outstanding shooting (career high 22 points) vs. Lipscomb and through his defensive intensity in every game. Lighty also has honed his on-court leadership in part through observing from the bench last season some of the team's mental breakdowns in the past season.

The Bucks have a tough match-up this week with Florida State in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. Like UNC, Fla St is tall and rangy. The Bucks had a tough time driving to the basket against UNC and when their shooting failed them, particularly early in the game, the Bucks had no answer offensively. The Bucks also rely on Turner to be a rebounder. Presumably, the similar-sized Fla St will present similar problems for offensive 2nd shots and defensive rebounds as UNC did a week ago.

The Bucks have a mixed bag schedule-wise for the remainder of December until the Big Ten season starts on 12/31/09 at Wisconsin. The December schedule is win-able and those wins will be critical to getting notice come tournament time. The Big Ten looks solid across the top half of the 11 teams with a strong returning squad from Michigan State and Purdue. Michigan has also looked solid at times. Other contenders include Northwestern, Iowa, and Illinois and Penn State if they stay healthy. Indiana continues to lack depth but has skills among its starters. Of course with 3-point shooting, any team can beat any other team on any given night.

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!