By: Seth Davis (SI.com) — There were certain parts of Chicago where it was not safe to be a squirrel last summer. That’s because Evan Turner, Ohio State’s 6-foot-7 junior forward, could often be found dribbling a basketball around his neighborhood and stopping at certain points to fire the ball at a variety of targets — walls, street signs and yes, the occasional unsuspecting mammal. “I’d do the same thing while walking around on campus in Columbus,” Turner says. “It’s so beautiful at night. Sometimes I’d get bored, walk around, dribble down the street and try to hit targets.”

There was a purpose to this strange exercise. Turner was preparing to do something he had not done since grade school: Play point guard fulltime. Ohio State coach Thad Matta had been telling Turner since his freshman year that he might someday take over the position, but it wasn’t until last August, as the Buckeyes were practicing for an exhibition tour to Canada, that Matta officially handed Turner the keys to his offense. “I told him after last season was over, ‘Hey, you need to be ready,’” Matta says. “I think that was the first time he realized I wasn’t messing around.”

When the season began on Nov. 9, Turner was ready. During Ohio State’s 40-point drubbing of Alcorn State, he posted the second triple-double in school history by putting up 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Turner followed that up with 24 points, 17 rebounds and four assists in a win over James Madison. On Thursday night the stakes get higher as Turner and the Buckeyes will play North Carolina in the first of two nights in Madison Square Garden, site of the 2K Sports Classic to benefit Coaches Versus Cancer. The reigning NCAA champs are in the field along with Syracuse and California, but this is New York City, where people know their hoops and value their stars. There is no doubt the biggest star in town will be Turner — and he’s not coming for the squirrels.

“I’m pumped,” Turner says. “That’s something you really dream about when you’re a little kid is to play in one of the best basketball arenas in the world. Everybody is going to be watching.”

What they will see is a player with impressive versatility yet much room for improvement. Though Matta has always pushed Turner to develop his all-around game, the decision to play him at point guard was borne out of necessity. Two of Turner’s teammates, 6-1 senior P.J. Hill and 6-2 senior Jeremie Simmons, rotated at the point for most of last season, but neither fared well and both are more comfortable on the wing.

The player whom Matta recruited to be his point guard, Anthony Crater, transferred last…..

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