European Prospects

News about Young European Basketball Prospects

U18 European Championship 2014: Turkey

August 29th, 2014 · No Comments

After analyzing the Croatian team, the topic of today’s article is about the Gold Medal winners from Turkey. We took already a look at the most interesting players from this country during the Albert Schweitzer Tournament this spring but here are some additional comments on prospects like Berk Ugurlu, Tolga Gecim, Furkan Korkmaz or Egemen Güven.

Berk Ugurlu was the organizer of the Turkish offense. The small but physically strong and quick point guard is though not only used as a pass first player but he also attacks the basket where he can finish at the rim. Out of the dribble, he can accelerate pretty well but he loses sometimes his body control when going too fast on the break especially. He has a tedency to only use his stronger left hand, even from the right side, or when he has to score over bigger players. Ugurlu finds the cutters well on the drives but is not the most creative player around. He does not use the three point shot that much even if he is quite a good shooter from behind the arc. His role on the team was more to find the other talents in his group and he did that particularly well leading his team to a Gold Medal. On the defensive end, Ugurlu can put a lot of pressure over the whole court with his physical playing style. He is not playing too much in the passing lanes gambling for the steal but he looks to have understood the game quite well on both ends of the floor.

Used as a back-up PG after having the main role in Mannheim ,Tolga Gecim is a bit of the opposite of Ugurlu. Long, athletic and not so physically built, Gecim showed once again his good decisions in Pick and Roll situations where he can create and excel because of his great height for a guard. He can find the roller or the cutter pretty well and can generate better angles for he pass because he is 2m03 tall. Gecim can play PG but he can also be used as a creative wing player which will probably be his future on the professional level.

Furkan Korkmaz underlined his potential to be one of the most promising scorers in Europe. The 19997 born wing showed once again his great ball handling skills, good speed and excellent shooting. With his variety of possibilities and good athletic abilities, Korkmaz is tough to guard on this level despite being a year younger than the competition. Korkmaz is attacking the basket well and can change directions easily even in traffic. Out of the dribble, he remains under control to go for the tough kick out passes, even in scoop style. He is doing an excellent job in attacking the close out as his first step is good but he also does a good job in reading which side to use. Korkmaz can score from behind the arc in catch-and-shoot situations but he is also very effective in creating his own shot out of the dribble, also in the step back mode. His very impressive foot work allows him to go for example for the behind the back dribble followed by a fluid step back and finish on a three point shot in perfect shooting style. On the next level, Korkmaz can though get a little trouble as he does not jump very high for his shot but the execution is quite quick so that this compensates in part this problem. With another year left on the U18 level, Korkmaz has still a lot of time to develop and he should become quickly an important factor on the Senior level within the next years.

Ege Arar showed already in Mannheim that he can develop into an interesting inside option. The long power forward can operate in the post where he likes to use his stronger left hand for several kinds of jump hooks. He can even finish on some one handed push shots from the top after using a variety of fakes to get open. His overal positioning in the paint is good which helps him also to be an interesting offensive rebounder. If Arar can develop his face-to-the-basket game and becoe more regular for example in Pick and Pop situations, he should be able to develop into a interesting Power Forward for the next level.

Egemen Güven underlined once again his tremendous potential for the future. The Turkish big guy has first of all excellent physical abilities with a nice wingspan and great mobility and footwork. His low post game is already quite developed as he can finish in multiple ways down low. The left handed jump hook is perfectly executed even after a drop step fake while he can also go for the turn around jump shot even if this move needs some polish still. He can also face the basket and attack the defender on the dribble and finish strong in the paint. With the years, Güven should be able to add a three-pooint shot as well as his overall touch looks to be good. On the defensive end, he is an excellent vertical presence in the paint even when he is not jumping. With the timing that he has, he is a constant threat as shot blocker and can close the paint and protect the rim nicely. Even if there is still a long way to go in order to develop his body, Güven was probably the most interesting prospect on the Turkish team next to Korkmaz.

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