Ohio State guard Evan Turner will pass up his senior season and enter the NBA draft, according to multiple media reports.
Turner was expected to announce his decision at a news conference at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.
This isn’t a big surprise. It’s not often that a player that is projected to go #2 in the draft and decides to return to school. There is just too much money (~$20 million) at stake to take the risk of returning to school and potentially suffering a career-ending or career-altering injury.
Here is what DraftExpress said about Turner at the Junior National Team tryouts in 2009:
Turner was clearly the best ball-handler and shot-creator on the roster, getting extremely low with the ball and weaving in and out of traffic impressively with his excellent footwork and spin moves, often to finish with a pretty floater. He has a tendency to over-dribble at times and make some careless mistakes, but it’s tough to argue with he brings to the table as a shot-creator. His perimeter shooting was hit or miss, especially from beyond the 3-point line, but he did show a very nice ability to pull-up off the dribble and make shots from mid-range. It was very informative to see Turner outside the confines of Ohio State’s zone, as he was really able to show his potential as a big-time defender here, switching out onto guards and using his excellent size and length to keep his man in front of him and contest everything.
This is some of what NBADraft.net had to say:
Big combo guard with great versatility and a tremendous feel for the game … Extremely smooth with the ball in his hands and has a bag of tricks offensively … His handles are that of a point guards and he has a terrific ability of getting to the basket … Has supreme confidence with the ball in his hands, excellent handle and a nasty crossover … Slick mid-range game with the ability to change directions and get defenders off balance to create looks … Good upperbody strength allows him to absorb contact and make plays at the rim … Strong finisher. Very adept at finishing after contact. Also utilizes the glass effectively … Has a nifty runner when he meets up with shot blockers in the paint … Understands how to use his body to shield the ball from opponents … Has a great pull up jumper and his ability to drive really sets up his ability to pull up for shots … Utilizes the spin dribble to get by opponents effectively and into the paint … Creative playmaker with the ability to find others for shots when his path to the basket gets cut off … Solid vision and a good passer capable of finding the open man …
Both sites project him to go #2 behind John Wall, but there are a few teams in the lottery that might take Turner instead because they already have a good point guard. I’m talking about the Nets (Devin Harris), T-Wolves (Jonny Flynn, Ricky Rubio), Warriors (Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis), Sixers (Jrue Holiday), Jazz (Deron Williams), Clippers (Baron Davis), Hornets (Chris Paul), Bulls (Derrick Rose) and Rockets (Aaron Brooks). Of those teams, I think only the Jazz, Hornets and Bulls are likely to go with Turner instead of Wall if they have that choice.
To me, Turner is a taller and longer Dwyane Wade. He doesn’t quite have Wade’s finishing ability or overall athleticism, but the similarities are there. Both players are better at going to the basket and are scoring-minded, but both are very capable playmakers. Turner is better from distance than Wade was in college (36.4% vs. 31.8%) and that’s even more impressive when we consider that the three-point line has been moved back since Wade graduated — resulting in the overall accuracy in the college ranks to drop by about one percent. So it looks like Turner will be a capable three-point shooter.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
