Tag: Evan Turner

Ohio State Basketball welcomes back former Buckeyes for Hoops Pro Week

Many former Ohio State players are in Columbus for the Hoops Pro Week helping teach the basketball team what it means to be a Buckeye.

The Ohio State basketball team welcomed back some former players for their Hoops Pro Week. It’s a time when hoopers from hardwood past ascend on Columbus to reconnect and help the current team understand what it means to be a Buckeye.

In attendance are former star players Evan Turner, John Diebler, D’Angelo Russell, Jae’sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Aaron Craft, and more. While in town,  the veterans are helping the young guys with skills, pick up games, and what it takes to be a winner.

Aaron Craft is pleased with what he’s seeing from the current group.

“Just being here for two days, we’ve seen that their expectations, they’re willing to work for. So, I love the group they’ve put together, the work ethic they have. I love the coaching staff, so hopefully we can keep building and find a way to put another banner up.” Craft said

While there, many of the former players decided to try on some of the new threads and suited up for a photoshoot. Those scarlet script Buckeyes and powder grays from the 90s sure do look sharp. Take a look below at how some of your past favorites would look in today’s uniforms.

William Buford, Jon Diebler, and Sam Thompson.

Aaron Craft.

Evan Turner looking jacked!

D’Angelo Russell

Jae’sean Tate, D’Angelo Russell, Keita Bates-Diop

 

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Evan Turner shares how he put Kelly Olynyk on the hot seat in the GOAT point guard debate

With a bit of luck on his side, the former Celtic wing and current team assistant had a secret weapon to boost his case.

Former Boston Celtics shooting guard and current assistant coach Evan Turner is known for his wild stories as much as he is his on-court play and coaching skills. And, for that reason, the hosts of the new, Celtics team-produced podcast “The View From the Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics” had ET on the pod to regale listeners with some of those nuggets of Boston lore.

True to his reputation, Turner delivered, with everything from new takes on the truck-in-his-pool story to why Brad Stevens doesn’t exactly deserve the “aw, shucks” rep he gets. But for us, our favorite tale he shared on the pod was the creative way he got teammate Kelly Olynyk to eat crow in a G.O.A.T. debate.

“We’re arguing on the bus about the best point guards,” began Turner.

Evan Turner joined Celtics for a ‘super-duper internship’ in coaching

The Celtic fan favorite is back in an all-new role.

One of the Boston Celtics most exciting offseason signings won’t even suit up for the team this season (or, at least we’re pretty sure he won’t); fan favorite wing Evan Turner is returning to the team in a new role: assistant coach.

Turner earned his first (and only) big contract playing for head coach Brad Stevens when he was still new to the team, the fallen prospect looking to re-establish his reputation as an elite player under the recently-hired Stevens. The partnership worked out for both, with the former Butler head earning a reputation for boosting the profile of players under his watch, and Turner getting a four-year, $70 million deal from the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016.

The Ohio State product made a surprise appearance at Monday’s post-´practice media availability session, where he described how the new role came into being for him.

“I was weighing the pros and cons of playing,” explained Turner.

“I had a couple options, nothing really solid, in a sense, and also always wanted to have an opportunity to coach and try to figure out if I want to do front office [roles] or something like that. When the Celtics came with the opportunity, I thought that was the best situation for me. It’s just a super-duper internship in a city … I love. To learn under Brad [Stevens], that was just a no-brainer honestly, and I jumped on it and I took it.”

“I just started our work about a week ago, and it’s gone pretty well,” he added.

Always a postgame interview favorite, Turner — who stepped into the role vacated by former assistant coach Kara Lawson after she was hired to be the next head coach of the Duke Women’s basketball program — figures to be a popular presence with the players and media alike.

His congenial personality and recent experience in the league make the 10-year veteran a sought-after interlocutor for the wisdom he can impart to younger players as much as the gems he offers up in a scrum.

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Brad Stevens, Jaylen Brown excited for Evan Turner, assistant coach

The pair believe he’ll be an excellent addition to the team as a developmental coach with recent experience as a player.

The Boston Celtics recently announced the return of former Celtic veteran wing Evan Turner, and the team seems pretty excited about the ten-year veteran’s return to the franchise.

As recently as last season, there had been rumbles about bringing Turner back to the club as a player, with not a small part of the draw being his veteran experience to impart with one of the league’s youngest rosters.

Now, with news he’ll be filling the role vacated by assistant coach Allison Feaster — who has moved on to accept the head coaching position for the Duke Women’s Basketball program — players and staff alike seem excited to have that veteran leadership with the team on the other side of the clipboard.

Head coach Brad Stevens was still a relatively new arrival when the Celtics signed Turner as a free agent in 2014, having just finished his own inaugural season in the NBA in 2013-14.

ET became one the former Butler coach’s first of several successful player-rehabilitation prospects after improving his standing enough to land a four-year, $70 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers two seasons later, and Stevens sounded like he still has a soft spot for his former player.

“He’s a special guy, a really good player at a lot of places, [who] had two great years here,” offered the coach. “But, he just loves to be around the game, and I think really loves to help people. And he’s got us a real service-orientedness to him. He’s a team guy, and I think that all of our players will love having him around.”

“I think a lot of our younger players will really benefit from his advice, his experience,” Stevens added.

“I thought that was a great move by the front office,” echoed Brown.

“Having people who’ve played the game that are around, played at a high level and just finished playing, I think … is an added benefit to our team. We can relate, [and] he can relate to us. He knows how our minds are thinking. Having him in those coaches meetings are going to be important.”

The Georgia native got to Boston a season too late to have overlapped with him, but undoubtedly crossed paths with him in games and around league functions more generally.

And as most of the press corp will emphatically attest, Turner is one hard man to forget.

The former Celtic has always been one for a witty comment, but he’s long been a glue guy on the team’s he’s played for as well; weld it all together, and it’s pretty easy to see why Brown and Stevens are so into the hire.

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Former Ohio State Basketball star Evan Turner hired to coach in the NBA

Ohio State basketball legend Evan Turner has put his playing days behind him to focus on player development with the Boston Celtics.

One of the best to ever lace ’em up on the Ohio State hardwood has decided to call it a career… at least as a player. Evan Turner announced his retirement from the game of basketball ending his ten-year run as an NBA veteran. However, Turner isn’t done with the game just yet, accepting a position on the coaching staff with Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics. Turner will focus on player development with the legendary NBA franchise.

After an outstanding college career at Ohio State, Turner was selected as the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Over the course of those ten seasons, Turner never quite lived up to expectations as a lottery selection. He spent time with five different teams over the course of his career averaging 9.7 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per game.

But it was at Ohio State where Turner will be forever remembered as one of the Buckeye greats. He was named the Naismith National Player of the Year in 2010 averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. But what will forever be etched in my mind was the half-court dagger Turner delivered to beat Michigan as time expired in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.

His jersey hangs in the rafters at Value City Arena for a reason. We’re thankful for the memories and excited to see his work in the next phase of his basketball journey.

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Shams: former Celtic Evan Turner to join Boston as an assistant coach

Evan Turner returns to the Celtics, this time as a player development coach.

The Boston Celtics have hired former Celtic wing Evan Turner in the role of assistant coach, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The 10-season NBA veteran rejuvenated his career with the Celtics under head coach Brad Stevens after the Indiana Pacers declined to offer the Chicago native an $8.7 million qualifying offer at the start of the 2014-15 season.

ET — as he is often called — signed a two-year deal with Boston that offseason, becoming a key part of the team’s rotation while scoring 10 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5 assists per game.

The Ohio State product parlayed that opportunity into a four-year, $70 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016.

Turner went on to play stints for the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring as a player to join Boston.

Charania reports that the former Boston forward will focus on player development in his new role; terms of his contract have yet to have been made public.

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Former Sixers guard Evan Turner to join Celtics as an assistant coach

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner is joining the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach.

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner had himself a solid, if unspectacular, career in the NBA. Philadelphia selected him with the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft and he averaged 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in his Sixers career.

Since then, he had found roles with the Boston Celtics and the Portland Trail Blazers as he was able to forge a 10-year career in the league. He finished with career averages of 9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds with 3.5 assists as it appears his career is coming to an end.

Turner will head back to the Celtics not as a player, but as an assistant coach under Brad Stevens. He is finalizing a deal with them that will focus on player development.

Turner played two seasons in Boston and he provided toughness and versatility in helping them make the playoffs during his time there. He was a guy who could do a variety of things on the floor so this is his opportunity to pass it onto younger players. [lawrence-related id=39630,39626,39620]

Current, former Sixers react to Nate Robinson fight, Snoop commentary

Current and former members of the Philadelphia 76ers reacted to the Nate Robinson knockout as well as Snoop Dogg’s commentary.

Boxing has always been a sport that attracts a lot of hype. From the weigh in to the training to the trash-talking, there is always a lot involved with the fight even for the undercards to the main event. On Saturday, the main event was Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., but the undercard received a lot of attention as well.

The undercard was an interesting one on Saturday night as it included former NBA player Nate Robinson taking on former YouTuber Jake Paul so it had a few celebrities going at it. There was a lot of interest in this one from current and former NBA players, for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately, the fight lasted all of 1 round as Paul hit Robinson with a brutal right hook in Round 2 and knocked him out. The knockout had some reactions from the Philadelphia 76ers as Joel Embiid was definitely watching.

Former Sixers guard Evan Turner, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, saw Robinson go down, and now he wants to get in the ring with Paul as well.

On top of the craziness that went down on the field, there was commentary from rapper Snoop Dogg and his reactions were legendary. He translated his brilliance on the microphone to the commentary on the fights and rookie Tyrese Maxey was loving it.

Another former Sixer, Josh Richardson who was just sent to the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 18, was on the floor with Snoop’s commentary and jokes.

Richardson went so far as to make a plea to ESPN to get them to sign him.

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Draft Rewind: Sixers select Ohio State guard Evan Turner in 2010

We take a look back at the Philadelphia 76ers selection of Evan Turner in the 2010 NBA Draft.

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The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2010 NBA Draft at a tough spot for the franchise. The team followed up back-to-back playoff appearances with a 27-55 season under coach Eddie Jordan and the vibe around the team was off.

However, they were granted the number 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft so they had an opportunity to add a star.

After missing out on consensus number 1 pick John Wall, the Sixers selected Evan Turner who had a terrific season with the Ohio State Buckeyes. He had just won BigTen Player of the Year in 2010 averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists showing off a versatile game that scouts were expecting to translate to the NBA game.

He had his moments in Philadelphia averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds with the Sixers including averaging 17.4 points to begin the 2013-14 season before being sent to the Indiana Pacers in a deal as part of the rebuild. He averaged 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in the team’s surprising 2012 playoff run to Game 7 of the semifinals as an 8 seed.

Turner has bounced around the league a bit since. After finishing the 2014 season with Indiana, he signed with the Boston Celtics, then signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, and has since been traded to the Atlanta Hawks. He was traded once more to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2020 deadline. [lawrence-related id=37953,37920,37867]

Three Ohio State players appear in ESPN’s top 50 individual seasons of the one-and-done college basketball era

ESPN ranked the fifty best individual seasons of the one-and-done era, and Ohio State had three players appearing.

Some would argue the one-and-done era of college basketball has watered down the product. And while there’s probably some truth to that, at least we get to see the best of the best high school basketball prospects for one year until they are eligible for the NBA (for now at least).

Ohio State was also a part of that movement, though it may not seem like it any longer with the philosophy Chris Holtmann has of recruiting kids that have the potential of being around the program for a few years. Under Thad Matta though, OSU had some of the bigger names that went on to the NBA.

But, we digress.

Officially speaking, the one-and-done era began in 2007, and ESPN’s John Gasaway did a look back at the best individual player season (subscription required) over the last 14 years — ranking the top fifty. Just because it’s labeled as such however, doesn’t mean all of the selections came from players that were there just one year. And yes, Ohio State is included, with three players appearing on the list.

Here’s who ESPN picked from Ohio State and their respective ranking.

Next … Buckeye players on the ESPN list

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