Former OSU guard Evan Turner (21) is set to have his number retired on Feb. 16.
Credit: Courtesy of TNS
A fifth number will soon be hanging from the rafters of the Schottenstein Center to signify Ohio State men’s basketball immortality: Evan Turner’s No. 21.
The former three-year OSU guard made Columbus his home from 2007-2010, winning the Naismith Award for the top player in the country for his final 2009-10 season. In that year, he averaged 20.4 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting and added 6.0 assists and 9.2 rebounds per contest.
Turner left for the NBA after his junior season, where he went second overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. After parts of four seasons there and a brief stop in Indiana, the Chicago native now comes off the bench for the Boston Celtics, averaging about 27 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-7 Turner was the fourth individual OSU player to win the national player of the year award. He finished his collegiate career 18th in OSU scoring with 1,517 points and ninth in assists with 414.
The No. 21 is scheduled to be lifted on Feb. 16 in a halftime ceremony during a game against Michigan, the same opponent Turner hit a famous buzzer-beating 3-pointer against in the 2010 Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
Turner’s number will join John Havlicek’s No. 5, Jerry Lucas’s No. 11, Jim Jackson’s No. 22 and Gary Bradds’ No. 35 in the Schottenstein Center rafters. All but Havlicek won a national player of the year award.
The game against Michigan is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Feb. 16.
