How To Dismantle the Evan Turner Bomb

Apologies for the lame U2 reference in advance, but with Evan Turner at the helm, the Ohio State Buckeyes can blow teams apart. In the Georgia Tech game, he showed his endurance and versatility by playing the whole game, scoring 24 points and coming a dime and board away from a triple double.

With his 6' 7" 210 pound frame, Turner can guard all positions from one to five. His ability to knock down the outside shot at a blistering 35.3% means that one can't give him space on the perimeter.

Even when he has a bad shooting night (UCSB first round game), Evan can dish it out to three point bombers William Buford, Jon Diebler, or David Lighty.

Don't double him in the post, or big bodied Dallas Lauderdale will get those weak side offensive rebounds and make your center look silly.

Tennessee could play a box in one on Turner with J.P. Prince. Prince is long and lean, and he has the quickness to defend point guards. He may have limited range on offense, but he can use his length to get steals (1.5 a game) and get easy jams on the other end.

But I don't think Prince has the girth to deal with Evan Turner on the boards or in the post. That will probably be Brian Williams and Wayne Chism's jobs. Williams is a slow footed true center who has developed post moves and can take charges.

Because of his limitation, I don't think Williams should guard Turner. His physical talents would be better used shutting down Lauderdale on the boards and preventing him from getting easy baskets.

This Sweet 16 matchup with Ohio State will give Wayne Chism a chance to showcase his defensive talents guarding a quicker swingman in Evan Turner. Chism is great inside, rebounding the basketball, but he is a great help defender guarding the three.

Bruce Pearl's best strategy in defending Evan Turner is to put J.P. Prince on him in a box and one and use Chism as a help defender to protect the paint