BY: AP via MiamiHerald.com -- Imagine how good the current Buckeyes might be if Evan Turner, the consensus national player of the year and the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, had come back for his senior season. "There's not a lot of programs that have been hit with the early departures like we have," Matta said. "But that's part of it. I'm not making excuses, I'm OK with it." The ever-upbeat Matta does not countenance prima donnas or ... Read More

By: Blake Williams (TheLantern.com) -- INDIANAPOLIS — After sneaking past Northwestern, 67-61, in overtime Friday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Ohio State men's basketball team will play Michigan on Saturday. The Buckeyes needed an Evan Turner buzzer-beater from just inside halfcourt to top the Wolverines in the 2010 tournament. With the No. 4-seeded Wolverines' (20-12) 60-55 win against Illinois on Friday, Michigan coach John Beilein said his team is playing its best basketball late in the ... Read More

By: Grant Freking (TheLantern.com) -- I thought the 2010-11 Ohio State men's basketball team would be good, that it would be in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Probably top 10 good. But I thought Evan Turner's departure would keep it from being an elite team. Boy was I wrong about the now-No. 1 Buckeye ballers. If anything, when Turner bolted Columbus for the professional ranks, he removed the shackles from senior David Lighty and junior William Buford. It ... Read More

By: PETE THAMEL (NYTimes.com) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the text messages pop up in Ohio State Coach Thad Matta’s phone, they always bring a laugh but barely ever a response. They come from the former Ohio State guard J.J. Sullinger, who simply types, “You’re welcome.” Sullinger deserves thanks for a recruiting tip that will long live in Ohio State lore. In 2006, he said to Matta, “I don’t want to tell you ... Read More

By: Associated Press via ESPN.com -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Deshaun Thomas stole the spotlight in his college debut, coming off the bench to score 24 points to lead No. 4 Ohio State to a 102-61 victory over North Carolina A&T on Friday night in the Global Sports Invitational. The Buckeyes have four starters back from last season's 29-8 Big Ten regular-season and tournament champion that made it to the NCAA round of 16. But the missing starter is Evan ... Read More

By Shannon Ryan (ChicagoTribune.com) -- Ohio State lost the player who was considered the best in the nation, yet the Buckeyes are expected to find even more success this season than when they advanced to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 last spring. While that logically would not compute for most teams, it has been proven at Ohio State. Last season's versatile point guard Evan Turner, who won nearly every player of the year award, left early for the NBA, but the ... Read More

By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -- Last season, Ohio State basketball featured the two conference players of the year, and both the men's and women's teams won at least a share of the conference title. Not much is expected to change. At the Big Ten basketball meetings in Chicago on Thursday, the OSU women were picked as the favorite by the media and the coaches to win their seventh straight conference crown; and senior center Jantel Lavender was ... Read More

By: Jeff Rapp (AthlonSports.com) -- For a few months in the winter, Terrelle Pryor was not the big man on campus, even after leading Ohio State to a win in the Rose Bowl. That’s because Evan Turner was captivating the college basketball world with his all-around excellence and his amazing comeback from a scary back injury, so much so that he raked in all conceivable recognition as the National Player of the Year. In the process, he also won ... Read More

From: PostAndCourier.com -- The South Carolina men's basketball program has scheduled a home-and-home series with one of the best programs in the Big Ten. Ohio State will host the Gamecocks on Dec. 18, then visit Columbia during the 2011-12 season, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta told The Columbus Dispatch. The Buckeyes lost Evan Turner, who was the second pick in Thursday's NBA draft, but are still ranked in the top 10 of most early preseason rankings. Post Jared Sullinger should ... Read More

BY: PATRICK Z. MCGAVIN (SunTimes.com) -- Five years ago, Evan Turner was regarded as the second-best college prospect at St. Joseph behind his close friend, Illinois guard Demetri McCamey. On Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, Turner was second again. The Philadelphia 76ers selected the West Side native and Ohio State forward with the No. 2 overall pick behind Kentucky point guard John Wall, the top selection of the Washington Wizards. Asked on ESPN about his quick recovery after he ... Read More