NCAA Basketball Regular Season Thread

[The Young One]

KU escaped out with the win. Im not proud of the way we won. But the important thing is we won.

 

[Blake]

LOL OSU

 

[Blake]

Purdue could make it as far as the Final-Four.

They're <Censored>ing raw.

 

[The Young One]

Xavier Henry beasted today...and we won the big 12 regular season title...

 

[.GR]

Never seen these silver jerseys before lol

 

[The Young One]

Glad to see Uk...lose. Now time for us to handle business against OK State.

 

[The Young One]

I love it seeing us play like <Censored>es...sherron has been ass lately.

 

[elcheato]

Hopefully MSU beats Purdue tomorrow, I think we win the big ten regular season if Purdue losses.

 

[elcheato]

By Marlen Garcia, USA TODAY
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evan Turner's roommate describes Ohio State's do-it-all point guard as fearless and relentless on the basketball court.
That's probably true of all national player of the year contenders, an elite group Turner, 21, has joined. Yet he has distinguished himself by continuing to play with such moxie since returning from a month-long layoff after a December fall that broke two vertebrae in his back.

"Other guys might (worry) about getting hit in the lane," roommate and 6-6 junior guard Jon Diebler says. "My man was trying to dunk and do the same things he had been. That's how he is."

Turner is a versatile 6-7 junior who over three seasons has played four positions. Maybe his biggest achievement is the self-doubt he has overcome since freshman year.

"I had a lot of learning to do," says Turner, who averaged 8.5 points in a turnover-prone first season. "I didn't know how I was going to be at this level."

He turned out to be a star. He is projected to be the No. 2 pick behind Kentucky's John Wall in the June NBA draft, if they leave early, according to NBAdraft.net and DraftExpress.com.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Would you pick Turner, Wall or Johnson?
Coming out of St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill., near Chicago, Turner was ranked 49th by Rivals.com in a class stocked with star power. Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and one-time Ohio State teammate Kosta Koufos were some who left college after one year for the NBA.

Turner's game evolved over time. He leads the Big Ten Conference with averages of 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds and is second in assists at 5.8. He led ninth-ranked Ohio State (21-7, 11-4) in a win at Michigan State on Sunday. The teams are tied for second, a half-game behind Purdue.

"For a parent who wants their son to be a great player, you need to study an Evan Turner," Ohio State coach Thad Matta says. "He came here with (few) accolades. He's done the work to make himself a great player."

In an instant on Dec. 5, though, Turner's remarkable season turned into a question mark. He fell on his back after dunking in a win against Eastern Michigan, and some teammates feared the injury would knock Turner out for the season and hurt his chances for a professional career. The school initially announced he would miss two months.

Turner was preoccupied with what his absence meant for the team. "He kept saying, 'I'm sorry, guys,' " Diebler says. "He thought he was letting us down by getting hurt."

Without Turner, Ohio State went 3-3.

Turner was diagnosed with transverse process fractures of the second and third lumbar vertebra on non-weight-bearing sections of the vertebrae and didn't require surgery.

"If you had to pick a spot on the vertebrae (to fracture), that's the best spot," Ohio State athletic trainer Vince O'Brien says. "These fractures heal with rest and by staying immobile."

Turner's mother, Iris James, came to stay with him for two weeks during his recovery. Turner says she had to help him dress the first week. He spent most of that time on the couch wearing an immobilizing soft brace to keep his upper body still. While lying there, Turner dribbled a basketball.

By the second week he was doing pool workouts. He also stood courtside during practices, dribbling while envisioning plays, "just so I'd be ready."

He was ready a full four weeks sooner than expected.

Before he could play, his mother had to be convinced he was OK. She drove five hours from Chicago to look at the X-rays that showed the fractures had healed. She also watched him practice.

"I'm truly amazed that physically and mentally he's come back," she says. "I thought there would be ill effects."

Messing up really bugs him

Turner has needed no extra medical attention since his return Jan. 6 in a victory against Indiana. He scored eight points in that game but has been a double-digit scorer since.

It took Turner three years to develop the confidence he exudes, and while recovering he worried about losing it.

He arrived at Ohio State in 2007 lacking self-assurance. When he committed a turnover, he says it bothered him during ensuing possessions. He had 99 turnovers compared with 98 assists in 37 games that season.

"Freshman year was horrible," he says. "I'm a perfectionist. When I mess up, it really, really bugs me."

He also had reservations about whether he fit in at OSU. Most of his teammates had friends, other Ohio natives, at the school.

MORE ON THE BUCKEYES: Ohio State team page
"He was a very shy, quiet kid," Matta says. "He walked in the office one day his freshman year, and I made him go back out. I had to show him how to enter a room, to look people in the eye and how to say hello."

Matta also wanted Turner to stop dwelling on the turnovers. To make his point, Matta brought Turner into a gym and pointed to a rack full of basketballs.

"He told me to throw them all over," Turner says. "When I did, he said, 'OK, do I look mad?' I said no, and he said, 'OK, so I don't care. And you shouldn't either. I know you take risks. You're going to have greater rewards.'

"That helped me a lot."

Turner still can be turnover-prone, but he's less self-conscious.

Matta's decision to move Turner to point guard this season was the topic of conversation at Big Ten media day in October. There were skeptics who wondered how Turner would transition from power forward.

"I didn't want to be conceited or anything, but I was like, 'Why is everybody questioning if I can run it or not?' " Turner says. " 'My coach isn't just pulling this out of nowhere. He obviously knows I have the capability.' "

CAMPUS RIVALRY: Latest on the college hoops scene
Turner excels because he can see over defenders, often looks for an open teammate before looking for his own shot and is speedy. On defense, his lanky arms help him deflect passes. He still rebounds with the gusto of a power forward.

If he moves on to the NBA he'll likely play the wing position, going up against stars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. "It's the toughest position in the NBA," Turner says. "Whenever I decide to go, I want to have an impact."

He wasn't ready after last season, he says, and "not now either." Yet factors such as contentious negotiations between the NBA and players' union that pose the threat of a lockout in 2011 could weigh on his decision.

'It's about giving back'

That will leave Turner with a tough decision because he has come to enjoy college and Columbus. He has been a strong influence on a local resident, 15-year-old Devon Pitts, who like Turner has been raised by a single mother.

Eighteen months ago, Pitts and his mother, Carol, moved from Milwaukee to Columbus. Turner was familiar with them because they had a mutual friend at Turner's high school.

Turner, remembering how tough his transition was, befriended Pitts, an only child, and offered encouragement about being the new kid in town.

"Growing up, a lot of people helped me out," Turner says, naming his mother and older brothers Darius, 22, and Richard, 32. "It's about giving back."

Occasionally, Turner will show up at Pitts' house with his Xbox controller. When some of Pitts' classmates discouraged him from trying out for the eighth-grade basketball team, Turner told him it didn't matter if he made the team. "Just try your best," Pitts' mother says Turner told her son. Pitts made the team.

When Pitts did a class project comparing high-top gym shoes against low-tops, Turner came and later took pictures with Pitts and his classmates.

"My son's teacher was so impressed that she cooked him a meal and took it to him when he hurt his back," Pitts' mother says.

The back injury is behind him.

"(Matta) always said the better I play, the better our team plays," Turner says. "I have kept my edge."

Hinting towards a possible return? I hope so, we would be loaded next year if he returned.

 

[elcheato]

OSU #6 in the new AP poll, sick.

 

[The Young One]

Big Game today...We play KSU..and this will be sherrons last game in allen fieldhouse so its gonna be pretty emotional. Hopefully we pull out the win for sherron.

 

[$tunna]

UK at UGA..

Hope the Bulldogs can continue to beast at home though I like both teams I gotta go with my true team on this one..

 

[The Young One]

We did it for Sherron...

I cried and Im not ashamed...I love Sherron

Pause

 

[elcheato]

so KSU and Duke lost.. Wonder if OSU can crack the top 4.

 

[$tunna]

UGA Lost I'm not mad tho UK is tough this year but we've got alot of potential

 

[The Young One]

I dont care what anybody says Lance Stephenson is a hooper and has 1 and done talent.

 

[elcheato]

Jared Sullinger won the Naismith award for the best High School player in the nation Kids going to be a stud here.

 

[The Young One]

Jared Sullinger>>>>>>Harrison Barnes

 

[The Young One]

Props to Georgetown for putting Syracuse in their place...

We got the W today...easy.

 

[elcheato]

Shocking that they lost, and I heard Onuaku got hurt? Crushing blow if he is out for the tourney. Still hoping OSU can pick up a #1 seed.

and oh yea.. Sullinger is a beast



Looks like he actually has skills unlike BJ freaking Mullens.