European Prospects

The 2008 All-Tournament Team power forward Deniz Kilicli had made the choice to go to play in the United States.

He is currently a member of the Beckley Mountain State Academy and has committed to play for West Virginia University next season in the NCAA. Kilicli got known in Europe for his unorthodox playing style, going for hook shots, surprising athleticism and shooting free-throws with a different hand than his jump shots. However, he dominated easily the tournament in Mannheim earlier this year but could not really confirm his talent later this summer. And it looks like this irregularity is also present when playing High School basketball in the States.

Mitch Vingle from the West Virginia Gazette traveled to the Mountain State Academy to get a look at the future Mountaineer. In the article, you can get explications from the Turkish forward why he chose to go to the United States as well as a short scouting report about his possibilities and weaknesses. Check here for my former reports on Kilicli if you want to get more information on his playing style. By the way, the coaching staff from the United States discovered Kilicli via youtube. Maybe it was this video of the semi-finals versus the US.