After Evan Turner’s dominant game against Alcorn State, the superlatives flowed. BTN announcer Gus Johnson called it “one of the greatest games in Ohio State history.”

Why? With 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, Turner had a “triple-double.”

We now know that OSU does not recognize blocked shots or steals before 1986, nor assists before 1984 nor rebounds before 1956. Was basketball played before those years? Yes. Did those things happen? Yes. They just are not recognized. Bill Hosket’s two triple-doubles in 1967-68 led to two important OSU victories; the wins are recognized, the triple-doubles are not.

Beyond recognition, what about importance? Interesting, kind of cute, quantifiable, but, in and of themselves, triple-doubles do not matter. They certainly do not necessarily meet a standard of greatness.

Ohio State beat Alcorn State 100-60. Take Evan Turner out of the game and what happens? Ohio State wins by 35 or so. The game was played so OSU could have a home game and the team could get closer to 20 wins, which might mean an NCAA invitation if they do not earn one otherwise. That is basketball today.

You want to talk greatness and Evan Turner? So do I. By the middle of last year he had established himself as one of my all-time OSU favorites. Since then he has improved that position. This year he is undertaking the most difficult challenge by an OSU player since the 1970-71 season, when captain and two-year starting forward Jim Cleamons moved to what amounted to point guard, sacrificed his scoring and led a bunch of rookies to an undisputed Big Ten title, a victory over undefeated Marquette in the NCAA tournament and an overtime loss to Western Kentucky for the right to go to the Final Four. (WKU later forfeited their finish in the NCAA as penalty for using an ineligible player, Jim McDaniels, who had signed with an agent.)

Coach Fred Taylor said, “I told Jimmy he can’t realize what a superb captain he has been.” Mike Bordner, OSU athletic trainer from 1964 until recently, said, “Jim Cleamons was the greatest captain of any Ohio State athletic team I ever saw.”

As Turner and the Buckeyes write the story of the 2009-10 season, he is building on his legacy of greatness rapidly. However, his triple-double against a team which was not competitive was merely an interesting statistical quirk.

Here is a possible definition of the term “great game:” a dominant, winning performance against a very good team in a game of significance. Subjective? Absolutely. For me, it would include conference games, conference tournament games, NCAA games and non-conference games against quality competition, with special emphasis on road games. Simply stated, a player cannot have a great game without playing in an important game.

Hosket’s games were against 6-0 New Mexico State, with future NBA stars Sam Lacey and Charlie Criss, and Illinois, so both were “great games.” You could add 35 points and 17 rebounds in a home victory against Rick Mount’s Purdue team; 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the playoff win over Iowa to decide the Big Ten championship and the only invitation to the NCAA tournament; 18 points and 20 rebounds in the NCAA opener against East Tennessee State; and 21 points and 15 rebounds on the home floor of third-ranked Kentucky to advance to the Final Four as others that year. All were great; some would be considered more important than the triple-doubles.

So, should Turner be penalized because he excelled in a game against Alcorn State? Not in the least. He and his teammates did what they were supposed to do, as they did against Walsh and James Madison. That is the mark of a mature team, and they are to be congratulated. However, they never had a chance at greatness because of the competition.

Looking at last year, ET had several great games. In Indianapolis, a relative road game with Notre Dame, he had 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 67-62 victory. During a home win against Purdue Turner posted 26-12-7. At Wisconsin, with game highs in points and assists, he had 23-5-5 in a huge victory. In a 60-58 win at Iowa he contributed 22-5-9. In the conference tournament, with game highs in points and assists, he had 19-4-4 in the victory over Wisconsin. Finally, in possibly the best of the best, he had 18-10-5 -- all game highs -- in an 82-70 win over Michigan State in the conference tournament. Game highs in each category might be called a “triple-top.”

Other games, like 19-8-6 in a victory at Michigan; 29-10-3 in a win at Indiana; and 18-10-4 while defeating Minnesota are clearly impressive as well. All of those games were more important than his game against Alcorn State.

A friend likes to say, “Never let the truth interfere with a good story.” By observing the present excellence of Evan Turner, and the past accomplishments of Bill Hosket, we may consider amending that to “Never let statistics interfere with the recognition of greatness.”

Lee Caryer grew up watching Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek play Fred Taylor’s style of basketball, which caused a life-long devotion to the school and the sport. As Editor of Midwest Basketball News, he was one of the first recruiting “experts” in the country, as well as a pre-season forecaster for Street & Smith’s. He has written The Golden Age of Ohio State Basketball: 1960-1971, Bobcat Pride and The Recruiting Struggle.