You know what I fear? Evan Turner getting jobbed of Player of the Year.
It would be criminal.
It would be stupid.
Barring a serious dip in statistics on his part, there’s no reason Turner shouldn’t win the award (or take home the majority of them; there are many Player of the Year awards, after all).
I’ve already written quite a bit about the soft-spoken Turner, and now that the national media will turn its attention to college ball, I hope they follow suit.
Turner continues on his torrid pace this season without so much as a boastful shout.
Business-like. That’s Turner.
He is the type of player that makes writing about college basketball easier. Fun.
There is no danger with Turner, so we turn to him for our feel-good stories. Expect many a feature still to come from CBS and ESPN outlets in the next six weeks.
News came down this morning that Turner won his eighth Big Ten Player of the Week award. How meaningful are these things? Not that much, but breaking his tie with Glenn Robinson and former Buckeye Joe Jackson is worth a bit of your attention.
He and Illinois’ Demetri McCamey share the honor this week, in fact. Funnily enough, they played together in AAU ball.
Ohio State plays the Illini Sunday. Nice little story there, too.
Turner could easily shatter the conference record and get to 10 by the end of this season.
More and more, though, I wonder if a PotY race even exists. The stat we’re going to hear more and more of in the coming weeks: Ohio State was 3-3 without Turner. It’s not as if OSU has the deepest of benches — the team only goes six deep, truly — so that makes Turner’s contribution all the more impressive.
To confuse a metaphor, he is playing without a net. The back injury is no longer a problem (was it ever once he came back? And how incredible has this been, considering how ugly that fall was?) and Ohio State fans are starting to think Final Four.
It’s all because of Turner. He’s got a devoted following, not just around Columbus, but on the Internet, where many a knowledgeable fan has picked up on and promoted just how complete he is.
Now that everyone’s watching, Evan, show them what us diehards have already known for some time — that you’re the nation’s best college basketball player in 2010.
