Turkish Prospects

[Toruko]

Mert Akay again with a great performance in the Serbian league KLS. His team defeated Dunav 96-91 and Mert again near a triple double performance.

20 points (most important part 4/4 from 3), 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Negative part is he caused again many TO. 5 TO in this game. All teams in Turkey and some in Europe will try to get him next season. I hope well see him during the Olympic qualifiers in Canada.

[Toruko]

Alperen Sengün with a tremendous performance in BSL. Just 14 points this time but beside his 8 rebounds he also made 4 assists (would be 7 in a normal team) 3 steals and 1 block. When Besiktas was 2 points behind in OT he stole the ball, protect it with a reverse and gave the pass in the right time.

https://twitter.com/kyvesely/status/1325449028318978048

[Toruko]

Again a monster game of Mert Akay in the Serbian league. What a come back of his team! Dynamic Belgrade defeated Napredak in OT. Akay had a ridiculous 19 assists and 3 Turnover game. Another nice point... he made 9 of 10 fts.

General stats: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 19 assists and 3 steals. 50 Efficiency

[Toruko]

Eurospects breakdown of Marco Turk about Mert Akay

Prospect Focus: Mert Akay

BACKGROUND: No basketball background in family. Started playing basketball in Bahcesehir when he was 6 years old and later joined Anadolu Efes youth program at the age of 11, played there for two years and joined Darussafaka in 2014. In season 2018/19 he played some games for their pro team in Euroleague and Turkish league. Joined Dynamic Belgrade last season and is now playing his second season for them. Was also a member of Turkish U16, U18 and U20 national teams. Went to German High School in Turkey which is regarded as one of the hardest schools in Turkey. His family supports him on his basketball journey.

PERSONALITY: Great leader on and off the court. Hard worker with great work ethic. Knows the value of education and was a great student in school and also a passionate student of the game of basketball. His idol is Sarunas Jasikevicius.

PHYSICAL/ATHLETIC TOOLS: Solid athlete. Doesn’t have the highest and most explosive vertical leap but is explosive in his north-south and east-west movements. Knows how to use his body to be his advantage. Strong upper and lower body with good position size and usually has strength and size advantage over his defender. Can reach high speed on open court while also showing some promising quickness in tight spaces.

OFFENSE:

Shooting: The aspect in his offensive game that needs the most improvements. Not that he can’t make shots but not a reliable and consistent shooter so far. His release is on the slower side and needs space and time. His shooting motion needs some fixes too. His lower body isn’t parallel to the rim when he shoots, he puts his right leg too forward and most of his shots are off target. Has made some improvements in his shooting motion already and the release got softer in the last few years but not a perfect release yet. With the work ethic he has, I’m sure that he will bring his shooting percentages to a solid level in the next few years.

Pick & rolls: Elite pick & roll player. Scans and reads the court extremely well and has great anticipation where all 10 players are. Rarely makes wrong decisions and mistakes in his pick & rolls. Knows how to maintain the dribble, put his defenders in jail and create a better and more open look. Even though he likes to involve his teammates and look for passes first, he can go straight to the rim if you give him too much space. When defenders go under the screen and give too much space to him at the three point line he will take the open shot without much hesitation.

Slashing: Great penetrator. Explosive first step and attacks the rim in a straight line. Reads the defense really well and always finds enough space to get to the rim. At the rim he can finish with both hands and absorb some contact with his strong body. Knows how to use his body to protect himself from being blocked. Hard to stop when he goes down the lane at full speed. Showing some decent touch around the rim but sticks to basic layups, not trying to be fancy with some floaters or runners.

Playmaking/passing: Due to his size he can see over defenders and scan the floor well. Orchestrates the offense like the best playmakers do. Knows where all players are and anticipates well where they are going to be in next seconds. Can deliver precise passes out of any situation to any spot on the floor. His basketball IQ and feel for the game are on the highest level.

Ball handling: Reliable ball handler that doesn’t make any mistakes. Can keep the dribble alive under pressure even when double teamed, he maintains the dribble and knows how to solve the situation. Uses his body for protection, has good control over the ball and keeps his dribbles pretty low. Makes aggressive dribbles and even though he doesn’t have many fancy go-to ball handling moves, he can get past defender pretty easily.

DEFENSE:

Perimeter defense: Plays good and aggressive on ball defense. Not afraid of contact and doesn’t back down easily. Slides his feet well, moves good laterally and has active hands and feet with good anticipation for pocket steals. Shows high basketball IQ on the defensive side too with making great reads.

Defensive versatility: With his combination of strong body, athleticism and good footwork he can defend any type of players on perimeter, even some wings. Usually guarding playmakers but would not struggle too much against other positions. Low gravity point and pretty strong stance in defending on post ups but still lacks length to contest shots completely under the rim.

Off ball defense: Covers much ground and knows for how much he can leave his man open. Recovers really well on closeouts, makes correct reads and contests shots or drives. His rotations are usually on time and has good court awareness. Showing great instincts for steals when he is helping out.

Rebounding: Even though this is usually not a characteristic in which point guards are good at, Mert is showing his great instincts in this aspect too. He knows where the ball is going and is usually at the right place at the right time. He is not vertically the most explosive or possesses an outstanding reach but with his instincts and IQ he can bring a lot to the table as a rebounding guard.

SUMMARY:

His basketball IQ and court vision stand out immediately and not many players with that size can be so confident with the ball in his hands. Also his defensive game is on a high level already but still has room for improvements. His main weakness so far is his shot from distance and I’m sure he will improve it to a solid level. Definitely a player that executives from top tier European clubs should monitor closely and a player that has the potential to have a nice career on the top level in Europe.

[gockun]

Again a monster game of Mert Akay in the Serbian league. What a come back of his team! Dynamic Belgrade defeated Napredak in OT. Akay had a ridiculous 19 assists and 3 Turnover game. Another nice point... he made 9 of 10 fts.

General stats: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 19 assists and 3 steals. 50 Efficiency

we desperately need a good PG, keep on kido!
This is the ultimate proof of why leaving Turkey must be the first option for any player no matter whatteam they play for (not for USA ofcourse)

[gockun]

Besiktas signed a 16 year old guy who is already 2,16m. His name is Samet Yigitoglu. I never watched him for very long and i cant say anything about him but they say that he is very mobile.

Since he has at least 1,5 years to grow he might end up like 2,21m.

Who is this guy? I've never heard of him, Where did they find him?

[Toruko]

What a game of Alperen Sengün and Sehmus Hazer! Especially if Sengün continues defending like this NBA is more than possible, great positioning, great pick and roll defense. Boy is learning.

22 points, 14 rebounds (8 offensive), 3 assists one steal and 3 turnover. 36 efficiency and the leader of his team.

[Toruko]

Sehmus Hazer with 19 points and 4 assists and 1 very important block. Undeniable in open court, can work easily as secondary ball handler in future.

Like Sengüns 3 pointer defense as well as rim protection, great guy.

I mean look at this speed. Hes not blocking a nobody. Its Sean Kilpatrick, former PAO Eurolegue scorer.

https://twitter.com/basketsuperligi/status/1330548411624546305

[Toruko]

According to Mike Gribanov from the Stepien Alperen Sengün has risen to 35th place in the top 100 of ESPN

https://twitter.com/mikegrib8/status/1337173281917394944

[Toruko]

And Sengun is on 30 and is counted as the 4th best center of available nba draft potentials. The biggest rise of 2002 players without a doubt but I still have many questions about his compatibility in the NBA...https://www.espn.com/nba/draft/besta...ion/ovr/page/2

[TurkfromGermany]

but I still have many questions about his compatibility in the NBA...https://www.espn.com/nba/draft/besta...ion/ovr/page/2

Without any doubt he will take 3s. His height is 204-5(in future maybe 206), Enes Kanter is 208. Alperen is a C/PF.

Alperen ne beyinsiz Enes´e, ne yeteneksiz Cedi´ye, ne de sümsük Furkan´a benzer. Alperen istedigini masaya yumrugunu vurarak alir. Alperen´in NBA´de kalici olamayacagini 1 saniye bile düsünmem. Kesinlikle cok basarili olacak cünkü büyük yeteneginin yaninda onun oyun karakterine yaklasabilen herhangi bir Türk oyuncu yok. Cok özel bir oyuncu.

[Toruko]

Our ESPN friend Givony about Sengün

[Toruko]

Mert Akay with a great game again against a playoff candidate in the Serbian league. 20 poins with a crucial 3 and saving 2 pointer, 6 rebounds and 13 assists. He turned over 8 possessions but as the leading guy its ok.

Unlike most of the expectations that Serbia never brought to Turkish player he had a very solid development it seems. Thanks to Miro Alilovic. Now his time in the Serbian league has to come to an end. He needs a CL or Eurocup team with similar role before entering the Euroleague stage.

[Jazz]

Thanks for all these updates Toruko. Interesting to read about Mert Akay. Like gockun said, Turkey could really use a quality PG.

I was wondering if you have any thoughts about why Turkey has relatively struggled to produce good playmakers compared to other countries?

[Toruko]

Thanks for all these updates Toruko. Interesting to read about Mert Akay. Like gockun said, Turkey could really use a quality PG.

The Turkish NT craves for a guy who demands the ball.

I was wondering if you have any thoughts about why Turkey has relatively struggled to produce good playmakers compared to other countries?

The short story is: Even the weakest team in the first Turkish BB league had a budget of 3 million dollars and if Turks have money they want immediate success. They dont care what could happen tomorrow. This money led to signings of talented prospects who never played. It doesnt matter how talented you are if you have top Europe guys in front of you.

Most of the talented guys of 95-97 generations had character problems, were lazy or had too many injuries. The usual Turnus of Turkish BB was always after one good generation two bad always follow