Furkan Aldemir Another Turkish Basketball Hotshot

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Furkan Aldemir, left.

Turkish big man Furkan Aldemir is the latest in a long line of talents from his country. Born in Izmir, Aldemir currently plays for Galatasaray Medical Park. At 6 feet 9 inches and 230 pounds, Aldemir usually plays the power forward position, but also periodically plays center.

Aldemir was a regular with the Turkish youth national team, and he made a big splash in the 2010 Under 20 European Championships where he averaged 11.6 rebounds per game. And in the 2011 Under 20 European Championships he averaged 14.8 points per game, 15.9 rebounds per game, 1.3 assists per game, and 1.7 blocked shots per game, and made the All Tournament first team.

The website NBADraft.net describes him: “Aldemir is a center with good size and adequate athletic skills … His foot speed and the coordination of his upper body make him a very interesting player, ready to play in the NBA … His main attribute is the propensity to grab rebounds: he has strong instincts for this part of the game … On offense he lacks a polished one-on-one game, but understands all situations and is always ready for passes … Another important skill for a big man is his efficiency in free throws, and we can consider him reliable (75% in Euroleague, 51% in Turkish League). On defense he’s also interesting: he’s smart, quick lateral movement and has a sense of timing for blocks …

The website also summarizes his weaknesses: “Needs to become better at creating offense for himself, aside from garbage buckets … His body is perfect for Europe but might be a little bit undersized for fighting in the NBA paint.” He is listed by the site as the 40th best prospect in this June’s upcoming NBA Draft.

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