National Championship
Tonight is the end of the road. For those of you who, like me, can't stand golf, major league baseball or the NBA playoffs, this is the last bright spot in the sporting world until August, which makes the next four months the longest in my personal sports calendar.
I sure love March/April Madness, but it's like the last oasis before I have to cross the Sahara Desert.
But it isn't quite over yet. For anyone who cares to join me in attempting to overcome "What might have been..." and watch tonight's game intently, without dwelling on how the Cats might have matched up with Duke, feel free to use the comments section of this post as a national championship open game thread.
Previous Entries:
East Region
Midwest Region
South Region
West Region
Second Round (Day 1)
Second Round (Day 2)
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
The Teams
No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils
No. 5 seed Butler Bulldogs
The Site
Indianapolis, Ind.
The National Championship
No. 1 Duke (34-5) vs. No. 5 Butler (33-4)
April 5 | 8:21 p.m. | Indianapolis
How They Got Here:
No. 1 Duke 78, No. 2 West Virginia 57
No. 5 Butler 52, No. 5 Michigan State 50
Let's get one thing straight: This isn't David vs. Goliath.
It's more like Abel vs. Cain or Esau vs. Jacob.
Butler and Duke are more alike than most would care to admit. Oh, sure, Duke has the more highly touted and recruited players across the board, but that hasn't meant jack until this season. The Blue Devils haven't gone any further in the NCAA Tournament during the three previous years than Butler has - the Sweet Sixteen.
They play similar styles, they defend and rebound similarly, and their coaches both fail to display normal human aging in a way that defies explanation. I won't say the two teams are clones of each other, but they might be fraternal twins.
Besides, for all of Duke's four- and five-star talent, Gordon Hayward will be by far the best pro on the floor tonight.
As far as individual match-ups, Duke probably should be favored. The Devils are way more consistent in their outside shooting, and for at least the duration of this tournament, have been offensively rebounding out of their minds - thanks mostly to the senior metamorphosis of Brian Zoubek from bench player to invaluable starter.
And as good as Shelvin Mack has been, I have to think Duke has the superior back-court in Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith.
But if I've learned one thing in the last month, it's never to underestimate Butler's scrappiness and resolve. The Bulldogs just find ways to win, even if it never looks impressive. I wouldn't bet on them to win, but I sure as hell won't count them out, either.
As usual, figuring out who will win is simple. If Butler can control the tempo and keep the 3s in check, and thus hold Duke to 60 or fewer points, they'll probably be able to win. If Duke can push the pace and get the game into the 70s or higher, Mike Krzyzewski will hoist his second trophy this decade.
Oh, and here's a little trivia for you: With a win tonight, Butler would become the first No. 5 seed ever to win a national championship.
GAMER: no predicted score
KenPom: Duke 66, Butler 59
Sagarin: Duke 65, Butler 60
Copyright (c) 2010 Sportsblogs, Inc
NCAA March Madness On Demand Continues Record-Breaking PaceFORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, today released traffic statistics for NCAA March Madness on Demand (mmod.ncaa.com) through the first four days of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. In total, there have been over 8.7 million hours of live streaming video and audio consumed by over 6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD) video players - .a 35% increase over 2009 figures.
Additionally, the NCAA MMOD "Boss Button" has been clicked nearly 3.3 million times through the first four days of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. The "Boss Button," which was redesigned for the 2010 tournament, hides the live video action on the screen and silences the audio, replacing it with a "business-like" image. The 2010 Boss Button was designed by cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic. Click here to view the 2010 Boss Button.
NCAA MMOD traffic figures through Sunday, March 21:
- Over 8.7 million total hours of live streaming video and audio consumed.
- Over 6 million unique visitors to the NCAA MMOD video players.
- 3.3 million clicks of the "Boss Button" - surpassing the total clicks of the Boss Button for the entire 2009 tournament (2.77 million).
- The most-watched hour on both Thursday (3/18) and Friday (3/19) was 2:00-2:59 PM, ET with 910,258 combined streaming hours of live video and audio.
- The most-watched game through the first four days of the tournament was the double-overtime Florida vs. BYU game with 521,000 hours of streaming video and audio. The second most-watched game was Robert Morris vs. Villanova (462,000 hours) and the third most was Siena vs. Purdue (403,000 hours).
"With four overtime games in the first four days of the tournament, exciting finishes and upset victories have really sparked March Madness on Demand consumption thus far," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. "Our philosophy of distributing this engaging content across the Internet and utilizing the reach of the CBS Interactive network continues to pay off with record-breaking growth."
"The first weekend of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship featured some tremendous games," said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. "As shown by the numbers, more and more NCAA basketball fans are turning to MMOD to ensure they don't miss any of the magical moments that occur in any given game of the tournament."
NCAA MMOD is the Emmy award-winning video player that provides live streaming video and audio of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. MMOD shows live video all 63 games, from the first round of the tournament through the semifinal and final games of the Men's Final Four, making it the only major sporting event that is broadcast live and in its entirety for free on the Internet. In addition to live video, NCAA MMOD also provides live audio from the Westwood One radio broadcasts of the entire NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
In 2010, free access to NCAA MMOD is made possible by presenting sponsors and NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola.
(c)Copyright 2008-2009 Advertiser Talk
Cornell becomes the first Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 since 1979Cornell advanced to the Sweet 16 with a convincing 87-69 victory over Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships at Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Coliseum Sunday afternoon.
Cornell becomes the first school from the Ivy League to make the Sweet 16 since Penn advanced all the way to Final Four in 1979 and the first school from the Ivy League to win multiple games in a single NCAA Tournament since 1983 when 12th-seeded Princeton defeated North Carolina A&T, 53-41, in the Opening Round and Oklahoma State, 56-53, in the West Region First Round.
The Big Red never trailed and led 43-31 at the half. They have not trailed in the NCAA Tournament since being down 5-4 to Temple on Friday afternoon. The Big Red has led or been tied for the last 77:17 of play. Cornell led by 24 points with 6:57 to play. The Ivy League champion scored 18 points on turnovers.
Cornell's Louis Dale scored a career-high 26 points. His previous best was 24 points, reached three times. He also moved up to third on the school's scoring list with 1,435 points, passing Ken Bantum (1,411 points from 1981-85) and Rey Mercedes (1,429 points from 1997-2001).
Ryan Wittman scored 24. Wittman increased his career total to 2,018. Wittman established a school record for points in a season with 586, breaking a record he set a season ago with 572.
He became the fifth player in the league with 2,000 points joining Princeton's Bill Bradley (2,503 pts from 1962-65), Dartmouth's Jim Barton (2,158 pts from 1985-1989), Yale's Butch Graves (2,090 pts from 1980-84) and Brown's Earl Hunt (2,041 pts from 1999-2003). He becomes the 11th active player with 2,000 points. Duke's Jon Scheyer can join that list with six points against California.
Jeff Foote and Chris Wroblewski each added 12 while Jon Jaques scored 9 for the Big Red.
The Big Red earns their 29th victory, setting the league record for wins in a single season. They also set two team single-season records today. With 14 assists, the Big Red now has 535 for the season, breaking a record set during the 1950-51 season (530). They also broke a six-year-old record for steals in a season with 237. In 2003-04 the Big Red collected 236.
Cornell's 18-point victory represents the largest margin of victory for an Ivy League school in an NCAA game since Columbia defeated St. Bonaventure in the East Region Consolation game, 78-60, on March 16, 1968.
The Badgers allowed the Big Red to shoot 61.1 percent for the game, the best percentage by a Wisconsin opponent since Indiana shot 70.2 percent in an 85-55 win against the Badgers on Feb. 24, 2001.
The 87 points scored by Cornell are the most by a Wisconsin opponent, in regulation since Arizona defeated Wisconsin, 94-75 in the First Round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin loses to a lower seed for the third time in the last four years (No. 7 UNLV defeated No. 2 Wisconsin, 74-68 in 2007 and No. 10 Davidson defeated No. 3 Wisconsin in 2008). Those three games represent head coach Bo Ryan's only three losses to lower-seeded teams. He now owns an 11-3 record as the higher seed.
Wisconsin's Jon Leuer led the Badgers with 23 points.
Copyright (c) 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC
Invasion of the brackets
Time for the Big Dance! Visit ajc.com/go/finalfour Sunday night through noon Thursday to enter Mark Bradley's annual Final Four Fiasco.
March Madness is the steady beat of bouncing basketballs and pulsating throb of the NCAA Tournament, capturing audience participation matched only by the Super Bowl and spilling in all directions.
Bracket mania induces devoted hoop-heads and casual fans who've never heard of a Hoya [Georgetown's mascot, derived from a Latin and Greek chant] to eagerly predict winners by filling out the iconic form with stacks of teams on each side that lead to the champion's line in the middle of the page.
The phenomenon has spawned a language of its own, much of the terminology trademarked by the NCAA: seeds, bracket busters, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, Big Dance.
No college basketball acumen is needed to play. Consider Kyra Billman. Three years ago, she completed a bracket at an advertising firm in Madison, Wis., based entirely on geographic familiarity with the teams.
"She totally destroyed the field [of 55 contestants] and had it clinched before the final game was played," her father, Andrew Billman, said. "She used her winnings to buy a new bike."
Kyra was 6 years old.
On Thursday and Friday, with first tip-offs coming soon after noon (EDT), people will take long lunches at restaurants and bars, wallpapered with TVs, that might even stretch into happy hour. For those who cannot slip out, live streaming of games on the laptop and constant updates on the iPhone are just a click away.
CBS, which controls the NCAA broadcast, anticipates a significant hike from the 7.52 million unique visitors to its On Demand video player and 8.6 million total hours of video and audio consumed last year.
Put brackets to work
One in four office workers submit brackets to an NCAA pool, according to a recent survey by Spherion Staffing Services of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and about 4 percent of poolsters risk at least $100 on their picks. Businesses latch on to March Madness themes as promotional tools.
Randstad, the Atlanta-based staffing firm, distributes a list of tips for office pool operators. Find a Web site to coordinate the brackets. Encourage workers to wear clothing with their team's insignia. Hold a tip-off luncheon.
"Consider using the tournament as an easy, low-cost way to boost office morale," wrote Randstad Vice President Rosemarie Vermeersch. "It may also go a long way toward connecting employees who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to interact with co-workers."
At Seattle's Weber Shadwick public relations firm, Dan Lee conducts a March Madness trivia contest, with winners getting lottery tickets. The company springs for lunch in a restaurant room reserved for Thursday.
Michael Araten, president and CEO of educational toys manufacturer Brands in Hatfield, Pa., surrendered after years of trying to control the bracket craze. "I decided to embrace March Madness," he said, allowing a pool in which half of the money goes to charity.
There is no separation of church and (Michigan/Ohio/Kansas) State to Brian Brandt, executive pastor at Grace Community Church, with four locations in Texas. He goads his staff into filling out brackets - "It encourages stronger teamwork" - and awards prizes to the top three.
In Georgia, if stakes are involved, pools are against the law, though authorities treat policing them as the lowest of priorities.
"Many, if not all, office pools would fall into the offense of gambling," said Jennifer Sandberg, a labor lawyer with Fisher and Phillips in Atlanta. Gambling, she explained, is a bet on an outcome "dependent upon chance" and is considered a misdemeanor.
Sherean Malekzadeh Allen, president of New Thought Marketing in Atlanta, was once paid about $20,000 by a client in Lexington, Ky., for advising on how to structure development deals. Allen arrived to find the client's office stocked with extra TVs, lapel buttons and pompoms.
"They basically paid us a couple grand to sit around and watch basketball," Allen said.
Pools also bubble up in bars and college dorms, at social clubs and on hospital wings.
"It's irrational," wrote Donelson R. Forsyth, a University of Richmond professor who studies group dynamics. "It doesn't make sense that we should get so caught up in the performance of these other groups."
Then why? "Wanting to bond psychologically is normal," Forsyth wrote. "We're conformists. We're going along with what other people do."
Online references
There has been an explosion of online data services for serious bracket folks, chat rooms that enhance the communal feeling and high-tech information providers once the games begin.
The site AccuScore "plays" each game 10,000 times, courtesy of a simulation engine, to project the outcome. Another, Bracket Science, crunches the results of every NCAA invitee since 1985. HowStuffWorks offers "The Science of Bracketology," with tips, trivia and statistics.
Those tethered to their desks can receive text-messaged updates on games from outfits such as 4INFO, which includes "upset alerts" so subscribers can rush to the nearest TV.
SB Nation, a network of fan-centric online sports communities, has more blogs among its 240 dedicated to the NCAAs than any other sports happening. The number of bloggers - and the fervor displayed - is unmatched.
Businesses have found benefits to piggybacking on the tournament. FatWallet, an online entity that offers specials, coupons and rebates on behalf of major retailers, tried a tourney-related promotion last year after discovering that the Internet search term "March Madness" skyrocketed during the month.
"It was purely a whim," director of marketing Brent Shelton said of its "March Double Cash Back Madness," campaign, explaining that the key words could not be used together in promotions. The retailers reported increased sales.
In Chicago, 21st Century Urology has linked with March Madness to advertise ... vasectomies. It tosses in a free pizza and a bag of frozen peas - not for eating - to ease recovery time for patients in front of their high-definition TVs at home.
The madness can yield repercussions beyond insomnia and set-aside work. Addictive gamblers are especially vulnerable, with the FBI estimating that $2.5 billion in wagers changes hands each year.
In March, everyone gets a little distracted. Everyone hangs on every basket. Anyone can win an office pool.
No word on how Kyra Billman has fared lately.
(c)2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Boilers escape, get share of Big Ten title
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Fueled by nerves of steel and a relentless approach to playing defense, Purdue's seventh-ranked basketball team has secured the school's record-extending 22nd Big Ten Conference regular season championship.
After beginning the Big Ten season 2-3, the calm yet tenacious Boilermakers roared back, winning 11 of their final 12 conference games, capped Saturday afternoon by a nail-biting 64-60 victory against last-place Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Indiana and Ohio State have won 20 Big Ten regular season championships.
"It's a great feeling," said fifth-year Purdue coach Matt Painter, whose first Boilermaker team finished the 2005-06 season 9-19, 3-13 in the Big Ten. "Our players sacrificed a lot and battled. To be in this position and get the job done ... you can't really put it into words.
"We had a little bit of bad luck with Rob Hummel's (knee) injury. It's just good to see that locker room and see so many smiles. They know it was a team effort and that all of our guys hung in there. We had to win two of our last three to get a share of the Big Ten title, and we did."
It's Purdue's first Big Ten regular-season championship since 1996, when Brad Miller and Chad Austin were the Boilermakers' standouts.
This team shares the conference championship with sixth-ranked Ohio State and also could share it with 11th-ranked Michigan State if the Spartans defeat Michigan Sunday in East Lansing. The Boilermakers will be the Big Ten tournament's No. 2 seed regardless.
While Purdue, which was 7-2 in Big Ten road games, never trailed in Happy Valley, it watched the Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15) slice a 13-point, second-half deficit to 61-60 on three Chris Babb free throws with 18.7 seconds to play.
But Boilermaker junior guard E'Twaun Moore, who struggled to score nine points, sank two pressure-packed free throws with 16.7 seconds to go to extend the lead to 63-60. Babb, who scored 17 for Penn State, missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with seven seconds to go.
Center JaJuan Johnson, who led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, made a free throw with 5.4 seconds to play.
"We played well collectively," said senior guard Keaton Grant, who added a season-high 17 points in Purdue's most important regular-season victory. "We outrebounded them, which is what we need to do each and every game. The biggest thing about this is that it was one of our goals, and we accomplished it."
Purdue used a 13-2 run to fuel an early 18-7 lead and outrebounded the Nittany Lions (30-29), the conference's second-best rebounding team behind Michigan State.
"It was a good start for us," said Johnson, 11 of 14 at the free throw line. "Our guys really wanted this game. We knew the importance of it. We weren't going to take no for an answer.
"Big Ten champions feels great. It still hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm just so excited right now. I'm eager to get back to Purdue and all the fans that are probably waiting for us."
Despite playing without leading scorer Talor Battle (leg cramps) during the final 7:06, Penn State would not go away. Battle scored 17.
"Penn State always has made runs," Painter said. "They've continued to fight. We knew that we had to step up and make some of those free throws and do a better job defensively. Babb got away from us a couple of times. Battle made a couple of real tough shots when we were right there on him.
"We wanted to keep the ball out of the post and do a good job on the glass. For the most part, we did. We knew it was going to be tough coming down the stretch."
It was tough all day for Moore, who made only 3 of 10 field goal attempts. But it appeared Purdue may have been destined to win this Big Ten title when its leading scorer banked in a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining, giving the Boilermakers a 61-55 lead.
"That shot was for the championship," said Moore, whose string of 28 consecutive double-figure games came to an end. "It definitely was a big shot. I was struggling shooting, but I never give up.
"I will keep shooting every open shot. You never know when one of them might go in. I stayed confident, and that one went in."
Just as Purdue's title-winning Big Ten season included six victories of no more than six points, it was another heartbreaking afternoon for Penn State.
"It's hard when you dig yourself a hole like we did and then try to dig out," said Nittany Lions forward Jeff Brooks, who had 12 points and seven rebounds. "We got it cut to three, and then (Moore) hit that bank shot. It killed our spirit."
PURDUE (26-4): Johnson 5-8 11-14 21, Kramer 3-5 0-0 6, Grant 6-13 0-1 17, Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Moore 3-10 2-4 9, Barlow 2-2 0-2 4, Hart 2-4 0-0 5, Bade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 13-21 64.
PENN ST.(11-19): Jackson 1-4 3-4 6, Brooks 5-8 1-1 12, Jones 3-7 0-0 6, Babb 4-11 5-5 17, Battle 6-10 2-4 17, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Borovnjak 0-1 0-0 0, Frazier 1-4 0-0 2, Woodyard 0-3 0-0 0, Ott 0-0 0-0 0. Tot als 20-49 11-14 60.
Halftime - Purdue 30-22. 3-Point Goals - Purdue 7-20 (Grant 5-10, Hart 1-3, Moore 1-5, Kramer 0-1, Jackson 0-1), Penn St. 9-22 (Babb 4-10, Battle 3-6, Brooks 1-1, Jackson 1-2, Frazier 0-1, Woodya rd 0-2). Fouled Out - Jones. Rebounds - Purdue 30 (Johnson 10), Penn St. 29 (Jones 8). Assists - Purdue 11 (Grant, Jackson 3), Penn St. 12 (Frazier 5). Total Fouls - Purdue 16, Penn St. 15. A - 8,865.
Copyright (c) 1994-2010 South Bend Tribune
Owens owns senior night as Spartans crush rivals
SJSU senior guard Robert Owens knew Saturday night's game against Fresno State would be the last time he would be playing for the Spartans at the Event Center.
But he didn't know it was going to be his most memorable.
On senior night, Owens led SJSU in scoring with 20 points to help the Spartans defeat Fresno State 72-45.
"This is a feeling that I will never forget," Owens said. "It is something I will be able to tell my kids and grandkids about."
The win clinched a spot for the Spartans in the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
Owens made six 3-pointers.
"I had the jitters at first," Owens said. "But once I drained a couple of baskets, I settled down."
In its best defensive performance of the season, SJSU held Fresno State to 45 points.
The win was the first time since 2001 that SJSU held a conference opponent to under 50 points in a game.
"We worked on our zone all week," said senior center Chris Oakes "We knew that Fresno is a talented team with good players. We just wanted to contain those guys."
Oakes said beating rival Fresno State made his last home game much more memorable.
Junior guard Adrian Oliver had 12 points and eight assists in the game.
Oakes had 12 rebounds to lead the team.
SJSU head coach George Nessman said he was proud of the Spartans' effort, but there is always room for improvement.
"As a coach, you're never really happy," Nessman said. "We definitely brought a hard effort and focus the whole game."
SJSU's victory came after two difficult losses against Seattle and Nevada by a combined total of six points.
"I thought we came out of the locker room with a lot of intensity," Nessman said.
"We lost two really heartbreaking games this week. It is the reality of college basketball. You are going to lose some tough games and it is about your resiliency and what you do next."
Fresno State had a below-average night shooting the ball, missing 22 of its last 21 shots. The Bulldogs were 15-60 shooting field goals and 6-27 from the three-point line.
"We were just totally inept offensively," said Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland.
"I don't feel we had the intensity or aggression level you need to compete."
SJSU started the game with an undersized lineup, playing more guards than forwards.
Bulldogs Paul George, Sylvester Seay and Greg Smith had a sizable advantage in height and weight over SJSU, but that did not stop the Spartans from controlling the game defensively.
Leading by one with 11 minutes to go in the first half, SJSU turned on the heat offensively and defensively, going on a 19-4 run to end the first half up 32-16.
SJSU took complete control of the game in the second half, never allowing the Bulldogs to come within 16 points.
In the game, SJSU had 19 second-chance points, compared to only five for Fresno State.
The Spartans will go on the road to face Idaho on March 4, followed by the regular-season finale against Boise State on March 6.
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament will be held March 11-13 in Reno.
www.thespartandaily.com
Ohio State men's basketball star Evan Turner developed a Buckeyes connection earlyCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- Iris James remembers what she calls the traumatic experience of putting her son, Evan Turner, on the plane to Columbus, watching the self-described momma's boy head to Ohio.
"It was hard for me to let him go," she said.
When Turner was choosing where to play college basketball, James made no secret of her desire for him to stay as close as possible to their Chicago home. But when he chose to play for the Buckeyes, it wasn't anything new. That first flight to Columbus occurred years earlier, with his older brother, when Turner was about 10.
Always a Chicago kid, Turner on Sunday will lead the Buckeyes back to his home state when Ohio State plays at Illinois with first place in the Big Ten on the line. But his roots in Ohio -- flying to spend the summers with his father in the Columbus area from about ages 10 through 14 -- helped pave the way for his college journey back to Columbus.
"I already knew how crazy it was, how the people out here were Buckeye crazy," Turner said Friday. "I had ties to Ohio."
His father, James Turner, is a 1978 graduate of Ashtabula High School and met Iris James in Chicago. Years after their sons were born, he moved to the Columbus area for work. That's when Evan and his older brother Darius started making their summer journeys and Ohio State started entering his consciousness.
In Chicago, with so many college and professional sports teams fighting for attention, Turner said the University of Illinois didn't make much of an impact on him. He grew up following Duke and North Carolina basketball. But he remembers walking into a gas station in Reynoldsburg during one of his first Ohio summers.
"I saw this Ohio State stuff and I thought it was crazy, because you never see Illinois stuff in Chicago," Turner said. "I thought it would be cool if I came back to play for the Buckeyes."
Meanwhile, he was playing all summer in Ohio, attending a youth sports camp at Ohio State. His father remembers him dominating a tournament associated with former Buckeye Clark Kellogg. The playgrounds and parks offered more court opportunities than he had in Chicago.
"It'd be 100 degrees outside and he'd want me to play 1-on-1 full court with him," James Turner said. "He wanted to be playing ball no matter how hot it was."
It wasn't always easy. Iris James remembers calls back to Chicago with news that her youngest son, a natural loner, didn't want to do anything except play ball. But the Ohio imprint was made.
As Turner emerged as a recruit, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan got on Turner's trail early, and Iris James quickly grew to like Ryan and the fact that the campus in Madison was only 150 miles from Chicago, about the same distance as the Illinois campus in Champaign. Columbus was 350 miles away, but after Turner faced Buckeye recruit Jon Diebler in the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron in April 2006, Turner's Ohio State interest was piqued.
"I was amazed by how far he could shoot, and I thought it would be fun to play with this kid," Turner said. "I said I might go visit Ohio State, and he was like, 'Yeah, do it.'"
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said the Buckeyes had been checking out Turner, but didn't realize his Ohio connection until they were already interested.
"It was a bonus," Matta said.
Turner was offered a scholarship in May, liked Matta and the other recruits in the class and committed in June when told the Buckeyes had one scholarship remaining with another prospect ready to visit.
It turns out there was another connection, too. Turner was at an Illinois-Chicago game in seventh grade when Butler point guard Brandon Miller dropped more than 30 points in a win. Turner went home and started playing with Butler on his basketball video game.
During Turner's recruitment, Miller was the Buckeyes video coordinator. He has since returned to Ohio State as a full-time assistant.
"When I showed up I looked at coach Miller and said, 'He looks familiar,'" Turner said.
For this Chicago kid, a lot about Ohio State was familiar. It wasn't his home state school. But more than 10 years after he got on that first plane for Columbus, with uncles and aunts and cousins in Columbus and Ashtabula and his teammates by his side, it's another home.
"It was just crazy. It worked out for the best," Turner said. "It was fate."
(c)2010 Cleveland Live, Inc
|
