By Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) -

INDIANAPOLIS — Thanks to his position on the basketball court, Jon Diebler rarely finds himself more than 40 feet away from Evan Turner during Ohio State games.

It’s safe to say Diebler enjoys the view.

“I’m perfectly fine with Evan going to the basket and scoring every time,” a smiling Diebler said Saturday after Turner went for 31 points in a double-overtime win against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. “He can do it all game if he wants.”

There are stretches when Diebler can sit back, watch and marvel at Turner, just like the rest of us. The Buckeyes’ junior guard can take over games, as he showed throughout the regular season and in the Big Ten tournament, where he averaged 27.7 points, 8 rebounds and 6.7 assists in three games en route to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Turner is the favorite to be named national player of the year, and he should be a top-three pick in the NBA draft if he chooses to forgo his senior season.

But the Buckeyes’ backcourt doesn’t start and end with No. 21. Turner is the front man, but the other three aren’t exactly roadies.

Without contributions from Diebler, junior David Lighty and sophomore William Buford, the Buckeyes wouldn’t own Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships, not to mention a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Turner’s versatility might be unmatched in college basketball this season, but all four OSU guards contribute points, rebounds, assists, loads of minutes and — not to be overlooked — stifling defense.

“We all feed off of [Turner],” Diebler said. “My job is to make shots, same as Will and Dave, to be aggressive on the offensive end. We know we have to be ready when our time comes.”

The Big Ten tournament reinforced not only Turner’s brilliance, but also how dangerous Ohio State can be when the entire backcourt is clicking.

All four guards scored in double figures in all three games. Buford and Lighty played every minute of the tournament until being subbed out with 1:27 left in Sunday’s 90-61 title-game rout of Minnesota. Ohio State’s guards (Turner, Buford, Lighty) accounted for three-fifths of the all-tournament team.

Although Turner took over in crunch time against Illinois, his 31-point performance Sunday was almost overshadowed by the play of his backcourt mates. Lighty and Diebler keyed the game’s decisive 23-5 run, as Lighty scored three consecutive layups and a 3-pointer in a span of 2:14, while Diebler twice connected from beyond the arc.

“They’re four great guards,” Minnesota’s Devoe Joseph said. “They all spread out, all take it to dribble, shoot the 3. They’re a great team in that aspect.”

Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta interrupted his gushing about Turner’s Big Ten……

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE PAGE AT ESPN.COM BY CLICKING HERE.


Reddit This
Stumble Now!
Buzz This
Vote on DZone
Share on Facebook
Bookmark this on Delicious
Kick It on DotNetKicks.com
Shout it
Share on LinkedIn
Bookmark this on Technorati
Post on Twitter

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 6:57 pm.
Categories: BUCKEYE COUNTRY, MEN's BASKETBALL.

One Comment, Comment or Ping

  1. BuckeyeCountry.net

    Ohio St. backcourt more than just Turner http://bit.ly/aE2RUE

Reply to “Ohio St. backcourt more than just Turner”