Will Turner become the first former Buckeye from the Thad Matta era to enter the league and find true stardom?
Evan Turner makes his NBA debut tonight as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers summer league team. Is this Turner's first step toward stardom - or at least becoming the most productive pro from the Thad Matta era at Ohio State? Turner's first game in the Orlando Summer League against the New Jersey Nets will be shown on NBA TV tonight at 7 p.m.
Matta's five previous first-round draft picks were freshmen and the only player in that group who was truly ready for the NBA, and not drafted on potential, was Greg Oden, whose career has been scuttled by two major injuries that have cost him basically two full years.
The picks before the Sixers took Turner No. 2:
* Greg Oden, No. 1, Portland, 2007: He has been in the NBA for three seasons, though his entire first year was lost to injury. He played just 21 games this past year after fracturing his kneecap. So in three years, he has played the equivalent of one full NBA season - 82 games. He averaged 9.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
* Mike Conley, No. 4, Memphis, 2007: In three NBA seasons, he has started 187 of 215 games. This season he started all 80 games he played in, averaging 5.3 assists per game, which tied for 25th in the league, with an assist-to-turnover ration of 2.5, which was 45th in the league.
* Daequan Cook, No. 21, Miami, 2007: Has played in 179 games, with 26 starts. Averaged 8 points per game off the bench this season. He's an NBA 3-point champion and 36 percent 3-point shooter in his career, but his scoring average last season was the lowest in his career. Last month, Cook was traded to Oklahoma City.
* Kosta Koufos, No. 23, Utah, 2008: In two seasons, Koufos has played in 84 games, averaging 3.3 points and 8.8 minutes. His NBA production and playing time declined significantly in his second season, though he did average 19 points per game in the NBA Development League.
* B.J. Mullens, No. 24, Oklahoma City, 2009: Averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds in his rookie year in the NBA Development League while playing just 13 games and scoring 14 total points with the Thunder.
Before this group, the most recent Ohio State first-rounder had been Jim Jackson, who went No. 4 in 1992 to start a 14-year NBA career in which he made more than $31 million and averaged more than 14 points per game. That's probably the low end of Turner's expectations.
Philadelphia 76ers' Evan Turner, left, and 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski pose for photographs during a basketball news conference in Philadelphia, Friday, June 25, 2010. The 76ers chose Turner, from Ohio State, with the second overall pick in the NBA basketball draft on Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) I expect Philadelphia fans will love Turner, and his easy-going personality and all-around game should gain him some patience in a town that can be very impatient.
But will Turner be a star? I'm not sure. I think he'll be a fabulous teammate, make those around him better and be exactly the kind of guy you want on your team. But I'm not sure he has the elite athleticism to be a perennial All-Star. Not that he has to be in order to be a success.
More than any Ohio State player in recent times, though, I'm intrigued to watch him as a pro and see how his game translates. Maybe he'll be able to dominate like he did in the Big Ten, as a creator and a scorer.
What do you think? Will Evan Turner be an All-Star?