The Sixers are expected to keep the second pick and use it on the 6-foot-7, 210-pound Turner. However, there have been reports that they may select Derrick Favors, a 6-10 power forward at Georgia Tech, instead.
While the 18-year-old Favors has potential, Turner, 21, appears to be a safe pick for a team in desperate need of a shooting guard.
"If Evan is the guy we end up taking, you start thinking of a [point guard] Jrue Holiday, who is the youngest player in the NBA," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "You talk about Evan, and you have two guys who could be a combination for seven, eight years in the backcourt together.
"And I think that is one of the things that Eddie Stefanski and I have talked about is where you have some holes, you can't fill them all at once. You try to get guys that you think can be really good for a long period of time."
Turner has the ability to play point guard, shooting guard or small forward. He swept the Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Associated Press, Naismith, and Sporting News awards for national player of the year in 2009-10. He averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.7 steals.
One of the highlights of his junior season was a game-winning, 37-foot three-pointer as time expired in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal victory over Michigan.
Turner's impressive midrange game, high basketball IQ, and craftiness are among the many reasons the Sixers are expected to pair him with Holiday.
"Evan Turner is a complete basketball player," Stefanski said.
"He's a player that makes his teammates on the court better. And he is a guy that doesn't mind the ball in clutch and tough situations."
