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Eray Akyüz (PG-1.89)
I had a chance to watch Iscar tournament and Balkan's next stars tournament which ended up very well for Turkish players. I will mention Eray Akyüz (PG) now. He had played quite effective last year, while he was playing against one year older guys in U16 tournament in Lithuania. He is not the best player of our generation but really the one of interesting ones (Mert Konuk is the most impressive player of our 00' generation but I need to watch a little bit more to make a detailed comment). Eray Akyüz, playing for Banvit, is taking part in the future plans of this team.
The most impressive thing about him is his taste for this game. He is just 15 years old however he is playing so mature for his age. He is always one step ahead of his teammates and his opponents. He has great game instinct which makes him a true leader for this level. He is commanding his teammates like he is five years older than him. He takes the helms in offence and touches the ball at least one more time in every possession. You can't see this in every guard. The game flowing and ball movement increase under his leadership. Even if he doesn't score, he stays in the game that you realize his absence when he is benched. When I evaluate under 18 PGs, the first thing that I look in them is if they take enough responsibility. If the answer is yes, I continue to follow them. Akyüz is definitely suitable for my criteria. A player can be extremely talented but his taste for the game makes him walking up the stairs one at a time. He has a lot of deficiencies which are very normal for this year old player and you can fill the deficiencies by time but if the player hasn't leadership character, you can't create a new character for this player. I have been following him for two years and in every single game, he has showed great determination and leadership. That matters for me.
His ball handling is first class. His preferred hand is right but he can easily dribble with left hand too. It doesn't matter for him which hand owns the ball. Unlike his peers, he is extremely confident and comfortable with the ball. When he is under pressure, he doesn't cut his dribbling. Even many of the senior level PGs get into a trouble, when they face a full court pressure. This is a big plus for him. Also a good sign that he trusts his dribbling skill. His biggest feature is his drives through the basket. From right or left, he drives the rim very easily. His body movement is advanced. He can control his slopes while driving. Since he owns the ball very well, those easy lay-ups should not be so surprising. He has really soft hands. Instead of hitting bricks to basket while driving, he drops the ball so soft. One more thing about his penetration is that he can change his body direction easily. (Like how Nando De Colo does when he is about the drop the ball) That's an impressive skill. It means, he has at least two options in his drives to make his balls escape from the blocks. He is doing these things when the other peers have not any other option.
He is very quick and agile. His first step is enough for passing every opponent at opening gambit. He runs the floor very well and goes to coast to coasts. Very good rebounder for his position. He helps his teammates when the ball drops the pool instead of watching and expecting someone to get the ball. That's what I mean by saying that he is always attached to the game. I haven't seen any concentration problems in his games. He is a great passer. Takes the ball and always looking to find easy buckets. His teammates are very lucky to play with him. No look passes, passes to the other side, passes from one corner to other corner, quick passes after PnRs were the things that I have notified. He likes to pass the ball to behind the arc after the drives which even caused some turnovers during some games. We can rely on his passing skill easily. He is not that type of guard who handles the ball well but makes wrong decisions.
His shooting is not so fancy but okay. He has even made some off-screen threes constantly. He needs to develop this part of his game. He can't make mid-range shots. If he can add some mid-range options to his game then he will be really different player and we will be able to trust him more for the senior level. His shooting mechanism is okay which means it can be developed in time. He should develop this part. I would like to wait next two years to see how will his shooting performance be. Also like every Turkish player, the FTs are problematic. I don't know what causes this
Even our best players have suffered from this.
His defense is above average. He has quick hands and steal the balls from the opponent. The thing that I didn't like in his defensive game is his defensive position knowledge. Sometimes he helps post-up defense much than the due that causes free three point shots for the opponents. I know that he is energetic guy but needs to brake his energy down He needs to keep on his man. Other defensive tools are great.
I naturally get excited when I see a good PG prospect. The guy has size, skills and enough maturity to play in senior level. He needs to develop his shooting percentages at first. I have faith in him, it is up to him where he will end up. If he can improve himself constantly, I see a Euroleague level PG in him. Banvit is a great school for him. In comparison to last year, he has improved himself much. That's a good sign he is on the right path unlike some of the prospects. I will keep tabs on you guy. Keep on working.
Eray Akyüz (PG-1.89)
I had a chance to watch Iscar tournament and Balkan's next stars tournament which ended up very well for Turkish players. I will mention Eray Akyüz (PG) now. He had played quite effective last year, while he was playing against one year older guys in U16 tournament in Lithuania. He is not the best player of our generation but really the one of interesting ones (Mert Konuk is the most impressive player of our 00' generation but I need to watch a little bit more to make a detailed comment). Eray Akyüz, playing for Banvit, is taking part in the future plans of this team.
The most impressive thing about him is his taste for this game. He is just 15 years old however he is playing so mature for his age. He is always one step ahead of his teammates and his opponents. He has great game instinct which makes him a true leader for this level. He is commanding his teammates like he is five years older than him. He takes the helms in offence and touches the ball at least one more time in every possession. You can't see this in every guard. The game flowing and ball movement increase under his leadership. Even if he doesn't score, he stays in the game that you realize his absence when he is benched. When I evaluate under 18 PGs, the first thing that I look in them is if they take enough responsibility. If the answer is yes, I continue to follow them. Akyüz is definitely suitable for my criteria. A player can be extremely talented but his taste for the game makes him walking up the stairs one at a time. He has a lot of deficiencies which are very normal for this year old player and you can fill the deficiencies by time but if the player hasn't leadership character, you can't create a new character for this player. I have been following him for two years and in every single game, he has showed great determination and leadership. That matters for me.
His ball handling is first class. His preferred hand is right but he can easily dribble with left hand too. It doesn't matter for him which hand owns the ball. Unlike his peers, he is extremely confident and comfortable with the ball. When he is under pressure, he doesn't cut his dribbling. Even many of the senior level PGs get into a trouble, when they face a full court pressure. This is a big plus for him. Also a good sign that he trusts his dribbling skill. His biggest feature is his drives through the basket. From right or left, he drives the rim very easily. His body movement is advanced. He can control his slopes while driving. Since he owns the ball very well, those easy lay-ups should not be so surprising. He has really soft hands. Instead of hitting bricks to basket while driving, he drops the ball so soft. One more thing about his penetration is that he can change his body direction easily. (Like how Nando De Colo does when he is about the drop the ball) That's an impressive skill. It means, he has at least two options in his drives to make his balls escape from the blocks. He is doing these things when the other peers have not any other option.
He is very quick and agile. His first step is enough for passing every opponent at opening gambit. He runs the floor very well and goes to coast to coasts. Very good rebounder for his position. He helps his teammates when the ball drops the pool instead of watching and expecting someone to get the ball. That's what I mean by saying that he is always attached to the game. I haven't seen any concentration problems in his games. He is a great passer. Takes the ball and always looking to find easy buckets. His teammates are very lucky to play with him. No look passes, passes to the other side, passes from one corner to other corner, quick passes after PnRs were the things that I have notified. He likes to pass the ball to behind the arc after the drives which even caused some turnovers during some games. We can rely on his passing skill easily. He is not that type of guard who handles the ball well but makes wrong decisions.
His shooting is not so fancy but okay. He has even made some off-screen threes constantly. He needs to develop this part of his game. He can't make mid-range shots. If he can add some mid-range options to his game then he will be really different player and we will be able to trust him more for the senior level. His shooting mechanism is okay which means it can be developed in time. He should develop this part. I would like to wait next two years to see how will his shooting performance be. Also like every Turkish player, the FTs are problematic. I don't know what causes this
Even our best players have suffered from this.His defense is above average. He has quick hands and steal the balls from the opponent. The thing that I didn't like in his defensive game is his defensive position knowledge. Sometimes he helps post-up defense much than the due that causes free three point shots for the opponents. I know that he is energetic guy but needs to brake his energy down
He needs to keep on his man. Other defensive tools are great. I naturally get excited when I see a good PG prospect. The guy has size, skills and enough maturity to play in senior level. He needs to develop his shooting percentages at first. I have faith in him, it is up to him where he will end up. If he can improve himself constantly, I see a Euroleague level PG in him. Banvit is a great school for him. In comparison to last year, he has improved himself much. That's a good sign he is on the right path unlike some of the prospects. I will keep tabs on you guy. Keep on working.
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