I know, I know...it's too early to declare this a done deal, and there's so many things that could happen between now and June 24th (trades, workouts, injuries, blimp attacks) that it would be minorly ill-conceived to get one's heart so set on any one particular pick. But dammit, it's been such a long time since there was something to get excited about with this team--not encouraged, not pleasantly surprised, not cautiously optimistic, but legitimately excited--that you'll forgive us for possibly jumping the gun on Evan Turner a little bit. At the very least, when the draft rolls around and we're somehow taking Donatas Motiejunas with the #19 pick, you'll know who's karmically to blame.
So how come it's worth getting excited about Turner? Well, I can think of at least ten good reasons why...
1. Dude causes matchup problems. A 6'7" guy with insane wingspan that can play the point? Even at the two position, that still can make for a huge advantage on both sides of the ball. With a starting back court/wings tandem of him, Jrue and 'Dre, the amount of pressure these guys could put on opposing perimeters should be absolutely tremendous.
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2. Dude is an enticing draw for future bigs. Samuel Dalembert's contract expires at the end of the season, and Elton Brand clearly is not (well, clearly should not be) part of this team's long term future. We're going to need front-line reinforcement, and Turner, who scouts expect to develop into a very good pick-and-roll player, is going to be a major asset in convincing future free agents to give Liberty Ballin' a try.
3. Dude has a great nickname. The Villain. Speaking as a writer, it's always a plus when a new player saves you the trouble of having to come up with a worthwhile sobriquet yourself, and a double-plus when that nickname is totally badass and rhymes with lots of crap. The headlines are gonna be epic.
4. Dude's real name is pretty cool too. Evan Turner...just sounds like a star name to me. More importantly, it's that all-too-rare athlete name that lends itself absolutely perfectly to chants--four syllables, with the emphasis on the first and third. As in, E-VAN! TUR-NER! *clap clap clapclapclap*. Keep in mind for his first-ever triple-double at the Wachovia Center.
5. Dude can shoot. Turner's jumper is considered one of his game's weaknesses, but his college stats aren't nearly as bad as you'd expect from that tag--he shot 36% from three last year when he was asked to make up half the team's offense (still a better rate than Lou Williams or Willie Green, and pretty close to Jason Kapono and Jodie Meeks), and 44% in less-extended duty the year before. Plus, when the jumper's not working, he can get high-percentage shots, as evidenced by his 52% FG shooting, and can earn it at the charity stripe too, getting their six times a game and converting 76% of attempts. If this is Turner's biggest drawback...I think we'll take it.
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6. Dude dunks.
Enough said.
7. Dude tweets. Like most pro prospects, he's a little raw in this category, but not without potential. A recent exchange between TheKidET and a well-wisher:
ItsEvanBrown: You're headed to Philly or Minnesota.. Either way
you'll miss the playoffs... John wall bout to be more paid then u lol. #salty
thekidet: lol ill still be richer than you son...
Good attitude, heart in right place. I can get with that.
8. Dude is tough. You probably already know about the literal back-breaker of an injury that sidelined him for a month last year at OSU--and only missing a month after breaking your f'ng back is indeed pretty damn commendable. What I bet you didn't know is that when Turner was an infant, in just his first year, he suffered from asthma, pneumonia, chicken pox, and the measles. Then two years later, he was hit by a car, an accident incredulously described by a recent ESPN article, "His mother saw him flip in the air and land on his head, but Turner
walked away with just a concussion and stitches." To suffer a lifetime's worth of pain before he even could learn the theme to Sesame Street, and still come out a champ...something tells me he's not gonna let a couple hard screens from Kendrick Perkins and Anderson Varejao get him down.
In addition, Evan just seems like a good guy altogether. Reading that entire ESPN article is pretty much guaranteed to break your heart, as it describes the suicide of Turner's high school classmate John Moll, and how he called John's mother Barbara that night and started a comforting relationship with her in the wake of her son's death. And then there's this quote from Turner himself: "I'm still shy, but I'm not insecure anymore [...] I just know
how to hide it better. When I was little, I just didn't like being
around big groups of people. I would just go outside by myself and play
basketball. It was almost therapeutic."
I'm officially in love.
9. Dude hits game-winners. If you haven't seen this yet...
...you better familiarize yourself right quick. Best of all is Turner's reaction: Just turn and walk away, keeping an intense stare while your teammates run up to embrace you. On a team whose all-too-rare buzzer-beaters are often quickly sullied with awkward and poorly-thought-out celebratory moves, it'll be good to finally have a straight-up assassin on the roster.
10. Dude wins, period. The Buckeyes' total record last year with Turner in the lineup: 26-5. Without him: 3-3, with the three wins coming against powerhouse programs like Delaware State and Presbyterian. This isn't some talented freshman who comes in with high upside but an underwhelming resume, this guy WAS Ohio State last season. The AP National Player of the Year, #21 from Chicago, Illinois, Evan Turner.
Get excited, people.