G/F Evan "The Villain" Turner (2010 Naismith Winner)

[Buckskin86]

In an effort to make sure we captured the whole experience we dug a little bit deeper this week, snagging a little time with recent NCAA Tournament stars who have graduated to the pro game.

Evan Turner of the 76ers, and formerly of Ohio State. A year ago Turner was in the midst of the college madness and now he?s locked in with his 76ers teammates as they attempt to crash the NBA?s big dance. Turner speaks candidly about the ups and down of his rookie season in addition to giving his take on this year?s NCAA field. Take a wild guess about his pick to win it all:

TURNER TALKS BUCKEYES, SIXERS AND WOLVERINES:

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/03/15/hang-time-podcast-march-madness-special/

 

[Buckskin86]

Turner excited about opportunity in playoffs
Posted: Thursday, March 24, 2011
By TOM MOORE Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc

PHILADELPHIA - Evan Turner can't wait to experience the NBA playoffs after hearing about them for years.

Barring a total collapse, Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in last June's draft, will get to participate in the postseason as a 76er next month.

"That's a cool thing," Turner said prior to Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks. "A lot of people play their whole careers or a lot of years without making the playoffs. I'm definitely lucky to be able to have an opportunity to make it."

Turner also realizes that Sixers coach Doug Collins saying Tuesday that he plans to rely more on veteran small forward Andres Nocioni could mean a diminished role for Turner late in the regular season and in the playoffs.

"Probably, but you've got to do what's best for the team," Turner said. "I'm not sure how it's going to work."

For his part, Collins said Wednesday that he'll take it "game by game" in determining how much seventh-year pro Nocioni plays and for whom.

Prior to Wednesday, Turner was averaging 7.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shooting 41.9 percent in 23.6 minutes in 68 games (with 13 starts) this season.

Turner has been much more effective with Andre Iguodala out, averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 30.6 minutes in those 13 outings.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/s...cle_21309d0f-b5aa-50d1-94bf-097d9e1473bc.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Matta on coaching Evan Turner: "With Evan, I knew he was a great kid and I knew he was a competitive kid. He had a hard time channeling his energy. I told him, 'You guard yourself too much. When you get upset, you take yourself out of a play.' I never lost the faith with him. As every day went by, our relationship got closer and closer. I knew in time it was going to because he knew I was never losing faith in him."

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/03/24/hoops-and-scoops.html?sid=101

 

[Buckskin86]

Sixers Notes: Collins leaning toward Nocioni over Turner for playoff run
POSTED: March 26, 2011

MIAMI - Rookie Evan Turner has delivered occasional moments of genius and also months of mediocrity.

Turner is still a vital part of the 76ers' long-term plans; it's just that the 22-year-old might not be an essential element of this year's playoff picture.

Before Friday night's showdown with the Miami Heat - the Sixers' likely first-round playoff opponent - coach Doug Collins admitted he was leaning toward giving Turner's backup minutes to veteran forward Andres Nocioni.

Turner is averaging 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 23.3 minutes a game. He has played a total of 1,606 minutes and is shooting 41.8 percent from the floor and 27.5 percent from the three-point line. Nocioni's statistics, even though he has played only about half the time of Turner, are comparable: 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds a game, shooting 43.0 percent from the floor and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Collins said he has discussed the decision with his coaching staff as well as with team president Rod Thorn and general manager Ed Stefanski.

"Evan has done a good job for us; we feel very good about that," Collins said. "We just sort of feel right now with Noc, he played very well for us early and he gives us another three-point shooter, spreader of the floor, gives us good size, and he's experienced. I'm just going to figure it out night-by-night."

After starting 16 games early in the season, the 31-year-old Nocioni fell out of the rotation about midway through the season.

"We sat down and we said, 'We have to go with the team that gives us the best chance right now,' " Collins said. "And right now, Noc needs to be in the mix."

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/118698444.html#ixzz1Hi5ndzPE

 

[majorpayne27]

Looks like Nocioni over ET is a done deal for the rest of 2011, barring any big changes. Turner took his second DNP-CD of his career against LAL tonight, and his first was in January and was just a "night off". As Philly shortens their rotation ET could struggle to make appearances the rest of the season.

It's not a big deal that ET isn't starting. However, to lose a reserve spot to Andres Nocioni is not a good sign. Collins can say whatever he wants about Noc's three-point game, but he's not very good at all. The only way I can take this is that Philly is just very unhappy with where ET is, which is actually a little surprising to me because his numbers have looked decent post-February or so. Evan definitely needs to develop a better jumper, but even without it it surprises me that he's been completely taken out of the equation.

Hopefully it turns around for him as a Sophomore.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Hopefully it turns around for him as a Sophomore.

Yeah, Evan Turner is a much better player than his perfprmance this season. Either he needed the year to adjust to the NBA; and/or he's on a team where he's just a "bad fit' for their personnel/style of play and could possibly benefit by a being traded to the "right team".

 

[BengalsAndBucks]

I think the biggest problem for ET right now is that Philly has so many players who play the same style as him who are playing at a high level right now. Holiday, Meeks, Iguodala, Williams, and Young are all having really good second halves, and there are only so many minutes to go around.

IMO, ET is much closer in style to the five guys above than to Nocioni. Hopefully next year Philadelphia will be able to trade one or two of those guys to allow Evan to see more minutes.

 

[Buckskin86]

Sixers' Turner spending more time on bench
By Kate Fagan
Inquirer Staff Writer

The last time Evan Turner sat on the bench for an entire game it was, technically speaking, last year.

Between the game against the Celtics and the one against the Rockets, Turner played 10-plus minutes in 40 consecutive games. That streak ended on March 4 against the Atlanta Hawks, a game in which Turner played only four minutes. In the four games since then, Turner has played 10-plus minutes only once and also received that DNP-CD.

In short, Turner is no longer in the rotation. And it's very likely he won't be a huge part of the team's playoff rotation, either.

What happened? Two things.

First, Turner still needs the ball in his hands to be a productive offensive player. Considering that Collins has three players ahead of Turner who also excel with the ball - Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, and Lou Williams - it's not difficult to understand why Turner's minutes have diminished.

"It has nothing to do with how much talent he has; it's sort of how I'm putting our pieces together right now," Collins explained. "When Lou is going well, that second unit, I'm going to put the ball in his hands."

Added Collins: "Evan's not gotten that comfortable yet moving and playing off of the ball."

Second, teammate Andres Nocioni, who's always competed with Turner for playing time, has playoff experience and can also stretch opposing defenses beyond the arc.

"Benches sometimes do get shorter in the playoffs," Collins said. "I haven't really made that a plan, but I just sort of play it out as I see it that particular night."

Collins said that he spoke with Turner about "carving out his spot" on the team and added that he'd like to see Turner play defense and rebound while finding his offense within the team's sets.

"What ends up happening is you get in these games and you're going to go with the guys you trust the most," Collins said. "And I feel like we have a good rotation."

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/119045614.html#ixzz1IH7SvcOF

 

[Buckskin86]

76ers' Evan Turner not playing, but not crying
Apr. 2, 2011

PHILADELPHIA -- Evan Turner isn't happy about not playing much, if at all, over the past few weeks.

But he's not going to mope about it. Instead, the second overall in last summer's NBA draft, hopes to learn from it.

"I can't really [cry] about that, especially when we're winning," Turner said. "It's not about yourself. It's about helping your team and seeing a bigger picture.

"... That's life. You can't fret over that stuff. At the end of the day, being a professional athlete, you've got to be a man about stuff. You can't really dwell on it and keep moving on."

Turner played the final 11 minutes Friday, coming in after the Sixers had taken a 31-point lead against the Nets.

Before that, Turner had played just 39 minutes in the Sixers' previous five games, which includes not playing at all against Houston on Wednesday. It was the third time this season that Turner didn't play.

Turner had scored just seven points in those five games. It wasn't the way he envisioned his rookie season would go.

"I didn't envision a lot of stuff this year," Turner said. "It's just been one of those years."

t's not likely to change, at least in meaningful games. Sixers coach Doug Collins made it seem like Turner won't be in the playoff rotation. Lately, veteran Andres Nocioni has been getting Turner's minutes as Andre Iguodala's backup.

Collins said Turner needs the ball in his hands, and the Sixers already have three players -- Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams -- who play that way.

"[Iguodala], as the year has gone on, has had the ball in his hands a lot more, and that has hurt Evan because Evan is not a guy that's going to space the floor for you and be a spot-up shooter," Collins said. "I just talked to him about carving out his niche right now with this group -- defend, rebound, get the ball in the open court and make plays. I think he knows that's his next area of growth."

That won't happen until the offseason.

"It's a major jump to learn how to play off the ball," Collins said. "You have to think differently. You have to think more as a scorer or a facilitator. It's a different kind of game. We expect Evan to be a good postup player ... Evan is definitely in our plans, and we need him."

But maybe not this season.

http://www.delawareonline.com/artic...not-crying?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|s

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATSOz1Qrn2Y"]YouTube - Doug Collins on Evan Turner's declining playing time[/ame]

 

[Onebuckfan]

Why did they draft ET then? They should've taken Cousins...or they thought ET would be that much better than what they had..and were wrong..ET needs the ball and needs to play sitting in Philadelphia won't help him

 

[xcrunner]

Man, I had one of those moments today where I was just wondering what our team would have been like this year if Turner had stayed for his senior year. It would have been ridiculous, and maybe Turner could have gotten a little more comfortable with his game before going off to the NBA. If only us fans could have everything...

 

[Buckskin86]

Turner could have bigger role soon
Posted: Tuesday, April 5, 2011
By TOM MOORE Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc.

PHILADELPHIA - Lou Williams knows that his strained right hamstring won't allow him to play in the 76ers' final five regular-season games.

He's not sure about the playoffs, which are scheduled to begin April 16 or 17.

"I'll do everything in my power to be ready for the start (of the postseason)," Williams said after Monday's practice. "With these types of things, there really isn't a timetable."

While Sixers coach Doug Collins said Monday that rookie Evan Turner would get a longer look with the second unit in Williams' absence, the Sixers were also scheduled to meet with veteran point guard Antonio Daniels in Boston and sign him to a 10-day contract.

Turner, the second pick in last June's draft, is averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 22.6 minutes in 73 games this season.

In the last three games, he didn't play twice (marking the third and fourth times that's happened in 2010-11) as Collins opted for veteran Andres Nocioni ahead of him. Turner earned 11 garbage-time minutes in Friday's 25-point thrashing of the Nets.

"The one thing I have always done is reward the guys who deserve to be out there playing," Collins said. "I thought he had a very good practice today. I'm a good karma guy. I believe you've got to be prepared or you won't get results.

"I hope Evan is going to take these few games and get back. He was playing great basketball for us for a while."

Cont..

http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/s...cle_44d1da43-f1b3-5723-8898-86b659ee88ce.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Rookie Evan Turner proved to be the lone bright spot for the 76ers with a game-high 21 points in the setback.

ROOKIE WATCH: With sixth man Lou Williams sidelined with a strained right hamstring, Turner found himself back in Collins' rotation for the first time in weeks. The second overall draft pick did not disappoint, carrying the 76ers' offense for the final three quarters on the offensive end. Turner tied a career high with nine field goals made, and also chipped in with five assists and three rebounds, making a strong case to stay in Philadelphia rotation in the weeks to come.

http://www.nba.com/games/20110405/PHIBOS/gameinfo.html

 

[MaxBuck]

Hoping Evan can break his season-long funk. Would be cool to see the Grizzlies and Sixers in the Finals. Would also be a huge surprise, of course. :)

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7FrqQDBqmk"]YouTube - ET Mobile - The Official Smartphone App of Evan Turner[/ame]