Playing 30 minutes off the Sixers' bench on Saturday, Evan Turner scored 16 points (7-of-12 FGs) with six rebounds, four assists and one block. If you overlook Turner's 15% shooting from downtown he has shown nice improvement this season, averaging 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.6 steals in just 26 minutes per game.

Sixers' Turner succeeds with refocused effort By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner acknowledges 2010-11 was a rough rookie season. By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY Evan Turner refocused on his shooting technique in the offseason, and it's paying dividends in an improved second season for him. He was tough on himself, bothered by criticism of a performance that didn't always merit being the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft. Sixers coach Doug Collins asked much from Turner: play shooting guard, his natural position, but also play point guard and small forward. It was a lot for a rookie on a deep, playoff-bound team to digest. "When you come out of college and you're the national player of the year and the No. 2 pick, you have high expectations," Sixers guard Lou Williams said of Turner, who came from Ohio State. "That weighed on him. USA TODAY Sports on Twitter! Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter at @usat_jzillgitt. To get the latest sports news from USA TODAY, including game results, columns and features, follow us on Twitter at @USATODAYSports. "He's put all of that behind him and just concentrated on being a basketball player." Turner began to show flashes at the end of last season, including two games against the Miami Heat in the playoffs, and he has had strong all-around games this season: 16 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists in a win against the Sacramento Kings; 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals in a loss to the Denver Nuggets; seven points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals in a win against the Washington Wizards. Inconsistent minutes have been replaced by consistent playing time, and Turner has a defined role on a deep, unselfish 12-6 team that is in first place in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division ahead of the struggling Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. He is averaging 10.3 points (7.2 a season ago), 6.2 rebounds (vs. 3.9 ) and 2.9 assists (vs. 2.0). "Just getting back to basketball and not worrying about what people were saying and being honest with myself in regards to what I needed to do to get better," Turner, 23, said. Continue....

It's nice to see Turner still rocking' the OSU mouth-piece in Philly!

Turner on Team Chuck for Rising Stars game February 16, 2012 The Sixers are sticking together during All-Star weekend. Sixers guard Evan Turner was tabbed for Charles Barkley's team in the draft for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge that will take place on Feb. 24. The game, which typically featured the best rookies against the top sophomores in the NBA, saw the format switched to a draft this season. Shaquille O'Neal selected the other squad. Turner is averaging 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game for the first-place Sixers this season. Joining Turner on Team Chuck are New Jersey's Marshon Brooks, Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins, Indiana's Paul George, Utah's Gordon Hayward, Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter, Washington's John Wall and Minnesota's Derrick Williams. They will oppose a Team Shaq roster of the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin, Phoenix's Markieff Morris, Minnesota's Ricky Rubio, Cleveland's Tristan Thompson, Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Miami's Norris Cole, Detroit's Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe and New York's Landry Fields and Jeremy Lin.

Later in the evening, Turner would go on to record a near triple-double in the Rising Stars Challenge, leading his Team Chuck squad to a 146-133 win over Team Shaq with 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.