Mother Knows Best, Says Evan Turner Can Come Back and Play Again

For a refresher, this is why the college basketball world has been without Ohio State all-purpose weapon Evan Turner since early December:↵
↵

↵
↵It still hurts to watch. The initial reports had Turner out eight weeks with a broken back, but word started to get around earlier this week that Turner could be cleared for tonight’s game against Indiana. One final person had to sign off on the matter: Evan Turner’s mother, Iris James.↵↵⇥ Turner’s mother, Iris James, also wants to proceed cautiously. She was driving to Columbus yesterday from her home in Chicago so she could watch practice last night and evaluate for herself how healthy her son is.↵⇥↵⇥“I need to know what’s going on,” she said.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥Before he was injured, Turner had played himself into being a probable top-10 pick in the NBA draft this year should he leave Ohio State with a year of eligibility remaining.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥“He’s only practiced since Saturday. That’s not enough, in my opinion. He hasn’t had any real contact,” James said.↵⇥

↵↵↵But now James has told the Columbus Dispatch that her son is ready to play. (She said “Evan is playing” in a text message to Dispatch reporter Bob Baptist.↵

↵↵College hoops is better for having Turner around. If he’d played the whole first half of the season, he’d be a sure-thing first team All-American. Let’s hope, if he’s really returning tonight, he’s ready. A home game against a wounded Indiana team is no reason to rush Turner back into the lineup if he’s not.↵

↵