After upset over Purdue, Ohio State's season rests in Turner's hands
There may be no one in the entire nation who takes more pride in their defense, is as hard-nosed, gritty and intense on that end of the court than Chris Kramer. Purdue’s senior guard reeks of toughness as he consistently shuts down the opposing team’s top scorer.
But even Kramer was virtually helpless on Tuesday night while watching Ohio State’s Evan Turner single-handedly lead the Buckeyes to an improbable road win in West Lafayette.
“He’s the best player I’ve ever guarded,” Kramer said. “He looks like he’s loose with the ball, but he has it on a string. He can spin in the lane, he can shoot it and has a nice pull-up. He has everything working for him.
“He’s a stud.”
The Stud went for 32 points in just his third game back after missing a month following a nasty fall in which he fractured a pair of bones in his lower back.
The Stud didn’t come off the floor once the entire game.
The Stud also grabbed nine rebounds.
Ohio State was down 10 points with less than four minutes to go when Turner had enough.
First came a spin move for a three-point play. Then, it was a drive down the right side followed by a dunk. Turner then buried a 3-pointer and made a pair of free throws.
Tie ballgame.
A couple more Turner free throws, a Jeremie Simmons layup and two William Buford foul shots to ice the game and Ohio State took a charter back to Columbus with arguably the most significant road win of the entire college basketball season.
Thad Matta’s team, which was staring at a 1-4 Big Ten mark after being force-fed a league slate that included four of its first five on the road, had gone into Mackey Arena and beaten No. 6 Purdue.
“I’m stunned,” Purdue star Robbie Hummel said after the 70-66 loss.
“You’re up 15 points with eight minutes to go,” Kramer added. “It comes down to getting stops. That’s what we do, but Evan is such a great player and it’s a credit to him.”
Hummel did his best Kevin Durant impression in the first 20 minutes, making 8-of-10 shots from beyond the arc and going into the locker room with 29 points — the identical number that the entire Buckeyes squad had racked up in the first half.
But as Hummel faded in the second half and Ohio State abandoned its ineffective zone defense, it was Turner who showed why he belongs squarely back in the conversation with Kentucky freshman John Wall for National Player of the Year.
If you take away the seven-minute effort against Eastern Michigan, the game in which he injured his back early in the first half, Turner’s numbers are astounding.
The versatile 6-foot-7 junior is averaging 20.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 10 games.
Those are numbers that stack up with all three of the previous National Player of the Year winners: Kevin Durant, Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin.
In fact, Turner is averaging more boards per game than Hansbrough two years ago and an identical number as Durant. While all three scored more, none even remotely approached the versatility and passing numbers of Turner.
“If anything, missing the time it would say more about him being the National Player of the Year,” Matta said. “He missed an entire month, has been back for six days and just scored 32 points.”
The most terrifying aspect of it all is that Turner said he still “has a long ways to go.”
“I feel like I’m back in the preseason,” Turner said.
“I still see a couple things that make me say that he’s not quite back yet,” Matta added.
Far more important than Turner getting back into the Player of the Year race was Ohio State getting a much-needed signature win. The Buckeyes had fallen out of the Top 25 after going 3-3 without their star.
“I was worried,” Matta said when asked about his players’ mental state entering the game. “We played four road games in 12 days in four incredibly hostile environments.”
But two of them came without the most productive player in the nation.
“John Wall’s a very good player, but I think Evan is the best player in the country,” Kramer said.
It’s certainly worth an argument.
