Trail Blazers guard/forward Evan Turner had one of the most illustrious careers in Ohio State basketball history before being drafted with the second overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, winning the Wooden and Naismith awards, the AP Player of the Year award, the Big-10 Player of the Year award and being named a first-team All-American before leaving Columbus after his junior season. Given those accolades, it's no surprise that Turner's No. 21 hangs in the rafters above Ohio State's home court, an honor that was bestowed on the Chicago native in a ceremony back in February.
And this weekend, the Buckeyes took their appreciation of Turner one step further, as the 6-7 forward was officially inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Columbus on Friday.
"It's definitely a blessing" said Turner before his acceptance speech Friday night. "You definitely don't take this type of stuff for granted, show you're appreciated. The Ohio State is so close to my heart. To be able to come back here, get honored and be able to do things that most guys aren't able to do is always a blessing. I'm a big Buckeye, so this is all unreal to me still."
Turner and the rest of the 2016 inductees were supposed to be introduced in front of over 100,000 people during halftime of Saturday's game between Ohio State and Tulsa at Ohio Stadium, but bad weather scuttled the ceremony, which prompted Turner to offer up his services for a future Buckeye home game.
"That's definitely tough because that's something you don't take for granted, to be able be cheered on by Buckeye Nation," said Turner. "I'll just wait until you guys repay me by letting me dot the 'I.'"