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Men's Basketball
Turner Talks about Bringing Home the Hardware
By Brandon Castel

After missing out on the player of the year award last season to Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas, Evan Turner set out to prove his doubters wrong during his junior year at Ohio State.

Evan Turner
Photo by Jim Davidson

“I was really surprised (I didn’t win it last year). I thought I played well and I deserved it. I just figured next year we’re going to win conference and I’m not going to give anybody a reason to put anyone ahead of me,” the 6-foot-7 forward-turned-point guard said Monday during his teleconference.

Despite switching positions in the off-season and, eh hem, breaking his back in the middle of the year, Turner did enough to prove his point to just about everyone. Monday he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year by both the media and the coaches.

“It feels great. It feels really good. It’s a great honor,” the always humble Turner said.

“It took a lot of hard work; really hard work and mental preparation. Just having the confidence and the faith to believe in myself that I could be one of the best players.”

Evan Turner came back from a devastating injury to earn Player of the Year honors.
Photo by Jim Davidson

Turner was a unanimous vote for Player of the Year, as well as first-team all-Big Ten, by the media, but not all the coaches agreed on his status as the best player in the conference. While they voted him unanimously to the first-team, at least one coach did not have the conference’s leading scorer and rebounder as their player of the year.

“I actually don’t know (who it was), but that doesn’t matter to tell the truth,” said Turner, who averaged 19.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season.

The coaches also snubbed Ohio State coach Thad Matta for the Coach of the Year award, opting instead for Purdue’s Matt Painter. Matta, who coached the Buckeyes to a 24-7 record this season, was voted as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media.

“He did a good job of having us buy in. We all want to play hard for him. He’s a player’s coach we have the utmost respect for him,” Turner said of Ohio State’s sixth-year head coach.

Evan Turner
Photo by Jim Davidson

“Our freshman year we weren’t as good as we were supposed to be and he was really patient with us. He said it’s not about now it’s about the end of the road.”

While the award was something Turner coveted during his time in Columbus, both he and his coach know there is very little time to savor the moment. The Buckeyes, who finished 14-4 in conference play after starting out 1-3, play the winner of the 8-9 game Friday (noon ET, ESPN) in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

“You never dwell on it too much. Coach Matta has us focused on the next day and the next step,” said Turner, who was the only Buckeye named to the first or second team Monday.

“I don’t want to dwell on my accomplishments. I just want to focus on getting better.”

Sophomore William Buford was named to the all-Big Ten third team by the coaches, while both Buford and David Lighty were voted to the third team by the media. Lighty and Diebler received honorable mention consideration from the coaches with Diebler getting selected honorable mention by the media.

While Lighty’s name was noticeably absent from the Big Ten’s all-defensive team, OSU center Dallas Lauderdale was voted on to the team by the coaches.

“He’s one of the best defensive players in the country,” Turner said of his classmate, who led the Big Ten in blocks during the regular season.

“He has a really good knack for blocking shots. We feel really comfortable with him behind us.”

Purdue’s Chris Kramer bested both Lauderdale and Lighty for Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten.

Thad Matta Photo by Jim Davidson	David Lighty Photo by Jim Davidson	Dallas Lauderdale Photo by Jim Davidson

All conference teams

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