Best Turkish Players Ever

[Levenspiel]

Let's activate this forum a little. This type of threads are usually good for this purposes

So, who are the best ever Turkish players in your opinion?

Among the players that I could watch, that is my standings. I don't know the times of those legendary players like Efe Aydan, Erman Kunter, etc., but judging from the level of basketball in those days, they probably wouldn't be in my list anyway.

1. Harun Erdenay
2. Mirsad Türkcan
3. Hidayet Türkoglu
4. Mehmet Okur
5. Ibrahim Kutluay

Now, let's make a whole team. I'm sure I forgot some better names.

PG. Orhun Ene/Levent Topsakal(??)
SG. Harun Erdenay/Ibrahim Kutluay
SF. Hidayet Türkoglu/Ufuk Sarica/Hüsnü Çakirgil
PF. Mirsad Türkcan/Murat Konuk
C. Mehmet Okur/Hüseyin Besok/Tamer Oyguç

[Akyol]

My favourite Turkish player (and imo the best Turkey has seen) is Harun Erdenay. He was the reason I started to watch and follow Turkish basketball. I always hoped that Ülker games were broadcasted. I would love to see him being the future Turkish NT-coach.

As for the other players, I totally agee with you but I'm rating Kutluay a little higher due to his tremendous performance in Europe through his best years and the Euroleague title in which he was the key player beside Bodiroga.

[Joško Poljak Fan]

bandwagoner here ... definately Harun Erdenay from what I've seen... I'd rank Kutluay 2nd... Okur 3rd... anyway turkish bball history isn't exactly my strong side so I guess there could be many legends here I am not aware of...

[gravity]

1. Harun Erdenay
2. Mirsad Türkcan
3. Hidayet Türkoglu
4. Mehmet Okur
5. Ibrahim Kutluay

Now, let's make a whole team. I'm sure I forgot some better names.

PG. Orhun Ene/Levent Topsakal(??)
SG. Harun Erdenay/Ibrahim Kutluay
SF. Hidayet Türkoglu/Ufuk Sarica/Hüsnü Çakirgil
PF. Mirsad Türkcan/Murat Konuk
C. Mehmet Okur/Hüseyin Besok/Tamer Oyguç

1- Erman Kunter
2- Harun Erdenay
3- Mehmet Okur
4- Orhun Ene
5- Hidayet Turkoglu
6- Levent Topsakal
7- Hüsnü Çakırgil
8- Ibrahim Kutluay
9- Ufuk Sarica
10- Mirsad Turkcan

[Nakz]

1. Harun Erdenay
2. Ersan Ilyasova (he will become the 2nd best Turkish player)
3. Orhun Ene
4. Hidayet Turkoglu (even though I dislike his mentality)
5. Mirsad Turkcan
I only watch B-ball since 1995 or something, so don't really know how the older ones played.

[lover]

we mustn't forget haluk yildirim and volkan aydin.

[PRSURF]

Yildray Basturk

[Nakz]

Yildray Basturk

He can be a good PG with his 1,60m height

[elaj]

For me - Harun Erdenay.

[Levenspiel]

Yildray Basturk

He can be a good PG with his 1,60m height

yes, he can be. He's pretty good at finding the scorer.

btw, it's interesting for a Puerto-Rican knowing him. in fact, hearing anything about football was surprising for me. (I'm influenced by -K2-'s comments )

[PRSURF]

hehehe i play soccer indoor,lacrosse,BASEBALL,basketbal and volleyball.

I know Yildray because is a good and one of my favorita players of soccer

[Levenspiel]

I faintly remember two very good players, Ömer Büyükaycan and Lütfi Aribogan, both from Galatasaray. I guess both were power forwards.

And anyone remembering Ömer Saybir? He had one of the most interesting shooting styles I've ever seen. He always used to win the games "single-handedly"
Although I visualize him under a yellow OYAK Renault jersey, I guess he also played for the best teams of that time.

[Juan Carlos Nadal]

For me it's as follows:

Okur (a far cry from the rest)
Erdenay
Kutluay
Hedo

I cannot comment on Kunter as I have never seen him play.
I am surprised to see Topsakal on some lists. I have seen the guy in several games and he wasn't effective at all. Maybe that's because most of these games were towards the end of his career.

I have not included Mirsad and Elyasova in the list as I consider them naturalised. If that was not the case then the former would have been in the 3rd place in my list. As for the latter, he is too young to be commented upon with regard to this topic.

[critter out on a walk]

I faintly remember two very good players, Ömer Büyükaycan and Lütfi Aribogan, both from Galatasaray. I guess both were power forwards.

And anyone remembering Ömer Saybir? He had one of the most interesting shooting styles I've ever seen. He always used to win the games "single-handedly"
Although I visualize him under a yellow OYAK Renault jersey, I guess he also played for the best teams of that time.

Omer Buyukaycan(1966) was one of the most talented Turkish basketballers of all time. He was around 194-195 at the age of 15 and was raised as a sg/sf, but then grew 10 cm. in one year and all of a sudden, found himself playing the power forward position. He ended up standing 208-209 cm.-tall. He had the quickness and athleticism of a sg, the fundamentals of a sg+sf+pf+c, a great shooting touch and a very high basketball IQ. Unfortunately, he was extremely lazy and had an indifferent personality. Hence, the failure to live up to expectations.


p.s. In 1997, he joined a weird religious sect and retired from basketball. He resumed playing in 1998 for a short duration, then retired again. This time for good.

His website is: http://www.omeraycan.com
His picture: http://www.omeraycan.com/kimdir.htm (the one on the right)

[Levenspiel]

p.s. In 1997, he joined a weird religious sect and retired from basketball. He resumed playing in 1998 for a short duration, then retired again. This time for good.

His website is: http://www.omeraycan.com
His picture: http://www.omeraycan.com/kimdir.htm (the one on the right)

Really interesting. I would never have guessed this.

Hey JCN, it's a material for your quest about the religious traits of bball players.