For a player who never lacks for motivation to improve, seeing the Big Ten player of the year award go to someone else last year shifted Evan Turner into overdrive.
"I was really surprised," Turner said last night. "Definitely Kalin Lucas (of Michigan State, who won the award)
is a great player. I just thought I played well and I deserved it. I guess I didn't do well enough.
"I just figured next year we were going to win conference and I wasn't going to give anybody any reason to ever put somebody else over me."
Somebody did have a reason, actually. But it wasn't enough to alter the outcome yesterday, and Turner, who led Ohio State to a share of its third Big Ten championship in five years, was the consensus choice of coaches and the media as the Big Ten player of the year.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta was voted coach of the year by the media. Matt Painter of Purdue received the nod from his fellow coaches. Ohio State and Purdue shared the regular-season title with Michigan State.
The media but not the coaches voted unanimously for Turner as player of the year. Turner said he did not know who snubbed him, "but that doesn't matter, to tell you the truth."
Turner was joined on the All-Big Ten first team by Lucas, E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel of Purdue and high-school teammate Demetri McCamey of Illinois. Turner and McCamey played for Westchester St. Joseph in a suburb of Chicago.
William Buford and David Lighty of Ohio State were voted to the third team, Jon Diebler received honorable mention, and Dallas Lauderdale was named to the All-Defensive team.
Turner is the fifth Buckeye to earn the conference's player of the year award, following Dennis Hopson (1987), Jim Jackson ('91 and '92), Scoonie Penn ('99) and Terence Dials (2006).
Turner led the Big Ten in scoring (20.1 points per game), rebounding (8.3) and steals (2.0) and finished second to McCamey in assists (5.9) in conference play. He is the only player to finish in the top two in scoring, rebounds and assists since assists became an official statistic in 1983.
"I'm elated for Evan," Matta said in his weekly call-in show on WBNS radio. "There's no doubt in my mind he's more than deserving (because of) not only what he did as a player but what he did for our team."
After Turner returned from a back injury, the Buckeyes won 13 of their last 14 Big Ten games and are the No.1 seed in the conference tournament that starts Thursday in Indianapolis.
Matta said being named coach of the year was "a tremendous honor, but I give it all back to the players because usually the guy that wins those has real good players."
Matta also won the award in 2006 and 2007. He has been voted coach of the year five times in 10 years as a coach in three conferences.
Turner gave Matta credit for helping him become player of the year.
"He definitely knew I wanted to be a great player, and he's coached some great players, and he pretty much taught me how to be a great player," Turner said. "He showed me the right steps and was always supportive. He's helped me grow up, and I'll forever appreciate him for that."
bbaptist@dispatch.com