Turner's triple-double a really big deal | The Columbus Dispatch

The word was out by halftime. Evan Turner had 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists -- two assists from a triple-double -- and Ohio State basketball junkies, about the only people who come to Value City Arena for an early November game against Alcorn State, knew what that meant.

[B Wet]

This kid is an absolute stud. It's so much fun to watch him play the game...not only is he highly skilled, he's very smart (a nice change of pace after watching Terrelle Pryor and Derek Anderson). I'm going out on a limb and predicting Turner's name might get tossed around for National POY. Although I'm an OSU fan and probably have some bias, I would take Turner's versatile skill set, work ethic, leadership and basketball IQ over any other player in the nation. Buckeyes are going to be a problem this season.

[Jeff]

Nice article and great accomplishment for Evan. How many triple-doubles are there in the college game on a yearly basis?

[Jonathan S]

How many turn(er)overs did he have?

[wetone]

2 turnovers, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots

[GoBucks09]

Jonathan S wrote:

How many turn(er)overs did he have?

2. As much as he has the ball I'll take that any game of the season. He's come along way since Evan "Turnover"... hopefully the fans will follow suit.

[dennis hobson]

I love to watch Evan play and believe he is quite a remarkable talent. Having said that, staying in a 40+ blowout game with 9 minutes left for the sole purpose of achieving a triple-double diminishes the accomplishment for me. What if Turner had gotten injured going for the triple-double would Bob Hunter be writing a different article? Of course.

It reminded me of watching Philly 76er Darryl Dawkins in the 1980's when he was going for the rebound title on the last day of the season. He kept missing on purpose close to the basket so he could get offensive rebounds to pad his statistics. A whole season's body of work was diminished for me because of the mockery of his actions.

[Steverino]

dennis hobson wrote:

I love to watch Evan play and believe he is quite a remarkable talent. Having said that, staying in a 40+ blowout game with 9 minutes left for the sole purpose of achieving a triple-double diminishes the accomplishment for me. What if Turner had gotten injured going for the triple-double would Bob Hunter be writing a different article? Of course.
It reminded me of watching Philly 76er Darryl Dawkins in the 1980's when he was going for the rebound title on the last day of the season. He kept missing on purpose close to the basket so he could get offensive rebounds to pad his statistics. A whole season's body of work was diminished for me because of the mockery of his actions.

Blame the fans for that. Our silly obsession with statistics drives the desire to pad stats. If people would pay attention to the game and judge players based on their overall ability rather than obsess about scoring and rebounding averages players would stay on point.

[Neil Pye]

This team is going to be fun to watch. They have great chemistry and they seem to really like one another. Go Bucks!

[Dennis Hopson]

Evan is a great talent and I want to wish him the BEST OF LUCK IN THE FUTURE!! WAY TO GO BIG GUY!!!

[glenn west]

Class act we have. Thanks for staying around so we can enjoy your game and your attitude. We need sportsmen and gentlemen.

[gmyers]

Congratulations Evan Turner and the rest of the Buckeyes on a great start to the season. I just have to wonder, with all of the positive press regarding team bonding and what not, does anyone else notice that Jon Diebler sort of gets the "cold shoulder" from the rest of the starters, especially Turner and Buford? Is it just me, or what? I thought I noticed this last year, as well. I certainly hope I'm wrong!!
GO BUCKS!!

[Bsharp]

gmyers wrote:

I just have to wonder, with all of the positive press regarding team bonding and what not, does anyone else notice that Jon Diebler sort of gets the "cold shoulder" from the rest of the starters, especially Turner and Buford? Is it just me, or what? I thought I noticed this last year, as well. I certainly hope I'm wrong!!
GO BUCKS!!

I think you are wrong. Turner mentions Diebler as his roommate in an ESPN interview last night and gives him credit for getting him the final assist. Diebler is even more supportive of Turner (kudos to both for appearing to be tattoo free ;-))

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap...

[Old Buckeye]

I really liked his insistence on getting Walter Offut into the conversation. This is a good kid who is really trying to do all the right things and be as good as he can be ...FOR THE TEAM! How refreshing in contrast to the guys who couldn't wait to cash out for the NBA. I can't really blame those kids a lot but Evan is really a class act! I think his patience and long-term view will pay off for him. I sure hope so.

[Old Buckeye]

I just noticed Dennis Hopson's comments. If that comment is for real, poor Dennis has a problem. Is he suggesting that the O.U. game was stellar competition?

[George Bush]

Yes Old Buckeye, that was Denny that made the comments. Now forgive me, I have some wood to chop. Good day.

[Mel Cooley]

Old Buckeye wrote:

I just noticed Dennis Hopson's comments. If that comment is for real, poor Dennis has a problem. Is he suggesting that the O.U. game was stellar competition?

I really doubt that is an authentic Dennis Hopson post as I suspect the real Dennis knows that his name is not HoBson.

[Old Buckeye]

Good to hear from you, George. If that is the real Dennis Hopson replying from Bowling Green, I apologize for my rash reaction to the West Jefferson Joker.

[Godzilla]

dennis hobson wrote:

I love to watch Evan play and believe he is quite a remarkable talent. Having said that, staying in a 40+ blowout game with 9 minutes left for the sole purpose of achieving a triple-double diminishes the accomplishment for me. What if Turner had gotten injured going for the triple-double would Bob Hunter be writing a different article? Of course.
It reminded me of watching Philly 76er Darryl Dawkins in the 1980's when he was going for the rebound title on the last day of the season. He kept missing on purpose close to the basket so he could get offensive rebounds to pad his statistics. A whole season's body of work was diminished for me because of the mockery of his actions.

What if, What if, What if, maybe so. But he didnt get hurt, so there is no reason for this accomplishment to be diminished in any way...the article stands as written.

[Sports Fan]

Yes, it is nice to see a few players without their arms covered with tatoos.

[bsharp]

Godzilla wrote:

<quoted text>
What if, What if, What if, maybe so. But he didnt get hurt, so there is no reason for this accomplishment to be diminished in any way...the article stands as written.

Anyway, Matta pulled Turner and other starters out with plenty of time left in the game. Easy to snicker about stat padding but Matta would have been deemed a much crappier coach if he had pulled Turner out of the game one assist short and denied him the triple double. That move might have impressed some snotty fans or cynical sports writers but I don't think it would have impressed recruits or the current team members.