Tackabery Chronicle

Even the ground was cheering for the Turkish national team earlier today during their game with Lithuania. At halftime, Japan suffered a 4.8-scale earthquake about 17 miles from the arena where they were playing. Unfazed, Turkey took it into overtime thanks to Ender Arslan’s tying three-point rebound off his own free-throw, but not before North Carolina State’s Turkish import got them that close. From ESPN.com:

Engin Atsür scored on a drive with 21 seconds left to bring Turkey (6-2) within 74-71. Linas Kleiza made one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to give Lithuania a four-point lead.

With 13 seconds left, Ender Arslan of Turkey was fouled. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. The rebound bounced off to the left side and he ran it down, stepped behind the line and hit a 3 with 8.5 seconds left to tie it.

Turkey finished Lithuania 95-84 and will play France for fifth place bragging rights. Damn, but I’m proud of our senior guard.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

In the "not even fair" category, Argentina beat up on Engin Atsür and his teammates today. They couldn’t get any decent shots to fall, shooting a miserable 37% and getting so far down in the fourth quarter (it was 36 points when I had to stop looking at the stats because I was depressed) that it just wasn’t going to happen. At about seven and a half minutes left, Turkey was down almost as much as they were at the end. The international media described it thusly: a goring, a slamming, and my favorite, a dumping. Ouch.

Despite such glowing reports, the 12 Dev Adam kept their heads high. There are still games left for them to play; they face Lithuania tomorrow to battle for fifth or sixth place in the championship, which used to count towards the Olympics but I believe does not make a difference now. Either way, they are still fighting for fifth and not giving up. Engin has shot incredibly well for this championship and really come into his own at the point:

• FG 12/24 for 52%,
• 2pt 6/10 for 60%,
• 3pt 6/14 for 42.9%,
• and, in true Prince Engin fashion, 8 assists.  

FIBA put up an interview with star player Serkan Erdogan who sounded tired but strong: 

FIBA: Can you compare Turkey’s team today to that of last year’s Eurobasket and the atmosphere within the side?

Erdogan: There’s a huge difference in our approach, our character. We have to keep developing the good atmosphere that we have in the team.

FIBA: Is today’s result a step in the right direction for Turkey basketball?

Erdogan: Yes it definitely is. The loss is hard to swallow but the experience of the quarter-finals is very valuable for the future. We will bounce back from the defeat in time for the classification games and we want that fifth place. There’s a huge difference between fifth and eighth. 

It’s hard to believe that when Engin gets done in Japan, he’ll have only a few weeks of rest before he has to get geared up for ACC madness. In the football preview this weekend, the Raleigh News & Observer reminded us hoops heads that basketball practice starts in less than 45 days! Engin has had quite a year so far.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

Kerkidas Proponaitis started a blog in his native Greek to cover the FIBA championships, and has been gracious enough to translate it into English. It’s not perfect, but he does a great job of summing up the story of the Turkish national team so far. Who knew Engin Atsür would have to travel all the way to Japan to be on a Jimmy V team?

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

Ermal Kurtoglu, who has a dayjob as a center for professional team Efes Pilsen when he’s not working for his country, had glowing praise for Engin Atsür yesterday in an interview with FIBA. Engin had fallen off the radar in his home country somewhat by coming here to North Carolina, but his coming-out party on the national stage has impressed his older, more experienced teammates who all have professional careers:

FIBA: Greece like to talk about having 12 excellent players and not just one `go-to’ man. You could argue that Turkey is the same, even though the team has some young players.

Kurtoglu: "On any given night, anyone is going to step up and hit some shots like Engin Atsur did tonight (Atsur buried two crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter against Slovenia). Not too many people in Turkey know Engin Atsur because he plays in college in the US and that is not shown in Turkey. But he’s showing how tough he is, and that’s big. That, coming from a guy who doesn’t play in Euroleague competition is real big. That’s huge. When you’ve got nine other guys out there doing that, coming through, that’s important."

Kurtoglu goes on to express the attitude of the entire Turkish team:

FIBA: You picked up four fouls in the third quarter but stayed in the game. How did you continue to play as hard as you did. It looked like you almost bumped a player out of bounds. Are you not worried about picking up a fifth foul?

Kurtoglu: "We have confidence in each other. I’m not even thinking I’ve got four fouls. It doesn’t matter who is on the floor. Everybody plays his heart out."

That is sportsmanship any country could be proud to claim.

I continue to remain bitterly disappointed that the local media has nothing to say about Engin Atsür’s performance in these basketball games (he is shooting a lovely 66%). I realize that kickoff for college football is less than one week away now and football plays the bills. I just can’t believe Raleigh isn’t a big enough market that they can’t spare one guy to pick up the same information I am and give Engin some press.  It wouldn’t even be work at this point. By the time they catch up, it’s going to be over. Big hint guys: Engin Atsür is now playing on one of the eight best teams in the world.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

A flurry of three-pointers sealed Turkey’s biggest win to date in the FIBA World Championships today. The game, in which advantage constantly scissored back and forth between the two teams, got all the way down to the wire:

Erdogan got ahead for a break-away layup for a 71-67 Turkey advantage with 7:12 remaining only to see Nesterovic’s hook give the Slovenians a 74-71 advantage. 

Then came the shooting guard from North Carolina State:

Turkey appeared ready to turn the ball over on a shot clock violation, but Atsür hit a three-pointer as the buzzer went off, tieing the game at 74-74. Just a minute later he hit another three-pointer – this one well behind the line – to pull Turkey within 79-77.

"He (Engin Atsür) doesn’t have a big experience at international level, but he’s got a big heart and you see that on the court today," Erdogan said of Atsür.

Erdogan then buried back-to-back treys, followed by one from Peker to push Turkey ahead 86-81 with 1:36 remaining.

Brezec put back an offensive rebound and Atsur commited a turnover with 26 seconds left. But Slovenia’s final comeback hopes were dashed when Nachbar missed a three-pointer with 18 seconds left. Erdogan made both free throws with 13 seconds remaining and drained two more with 4.8 seconds to ice the game. 

The rest of the write-up at FIBA.
Box Score. 

Congratulations, Engin. I knew you could do it.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

Despite leading at half-time and then coming back strong and hard from a badly-played third quarter, Greece bested Turkey today, 76-69, giving them their first taste of defeat in the championships thus far. Turkey only scored five points in that awful third quarter, but Serkan Erdogan came back to push 10 points down the Greeks’ throats in the fourth. It wasn’t enough, but Turkey still moves on, as the best four of each group go on to the "Round of 16," a one-and-done round. Turkey has to get past Slovenia to advance. Slovenia, featuring the Bobcats’ Primoz Brezec, has been up and down in qualifying play, so it could go either way.

Engin Atsür has gotten more attention today on the Pack Pride boards as a result of his performances and press, which I was gratified to see. He is going to be our general next year, and he needs our support and good thoughts, even if our team has little chance of going very far. I thought about him a lot today, especially when I was watching the NBATV broadcast of the U.S.A. game. I support my country’s team wholeheartedly – I am very moved and proud that our basketball players have finally put their egos and paychecks aside and decided to play for something bigger than themselves. But my heart is with Engin right now, I think because he has been so close to success so often with N.C. State, and seen it pass to someone else, yet still plays with so much passion and dedication. That inspires me. I don’t care how corny that sounds. I can be inspired by a 22-year-old nice guy who courageously stepped on a plane three years ago and came to a country whose language he barely understood to play basketball for a coach who had never seen him dribble the ball in person and an arena full of red-and-white wearing basketball freaks, and started every game (save one) absolutely convinced that he would succeed. Every time. In my mind, no matter what happens, he already has.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

Engin Atsür played 24 minutes and scored 12 points in Turkey’s 76-69 victory today over Qatar in the fourth game of the qualifying roung of the FIBA World Championships in Hamamatsu, Japan. With two of their key scorers resting from some battle wounds, Tanjevic put up his second string and Engin made the most of his time. Greece and Turkey battle tomorrow for first place in Group C as the two unbeaten teams in their qualifying round. A replay of that game airs Saturday on NBATV in the states. Engin is wearing #6 for Turkey:

Engin got some great foreign press, too:

The Peninsula (Qatar)
Zaman Online (Turkey)
BBC Sport (UK) 

I am deeply disappointed in the local media’s failure to cover this event and Engin’s role in it. I realize that football is less than two weeks away and there are scrimmages and media days and everything else, but Engin is playing NOW and winning NOW and his team is making frigging history and he is our player and they are making him the face of the basketball program in their marketing collateral and are they all just idiots over there? Wait, I’m talking about the same people who still haven’t fixed the gopack.com website yet, why am I expecting miracles from the press department?! . . . oh, I am getting all worked up!! But I digress. Let me not take away from Engin’s victory and wish him the best of luck tomorrow. He will need it. Greece is going to be a tough one. 

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

Turkey beat Brasil in the final game of first round FIBA play today, 73-71, and Engin Atsür finally got to show his stuff. Tanjevic put him on the floor for 20 minutes, where he managed to make quite an impression defensively, tucking away 2 rebounds. Engin scored 4 points on 1 three-pointer and one foul shot, and also put up 4 assists. The "12 Dev Adam," or "12 Giant Men," as they are known in Turkey, are shaking off their poor initial rankings (18th, a wild card) coming into this tournament, and they are playing tough basketball. They had 21 turnovers though, so I hope they tighten it up for the next go. Dear Coach Tanjevic: Engin can help with that. He is the low-turnover man. I won’t get a chance to see if Atsür plays again until Saturday, but I’ve got to tell you, that made my whole day. Sometimes the good guys, if they hang in, get their chance. And then they go kick ass.

Box Score
Jeff Taylor’s write-up of the game on FIBA 

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball, 12 giant men

Turkey beat Australia handily today, 76-68. Ersan Ilyasova, a rookie with the Milwaukee Bucks consigned to the NBDL in the U.S. last year but the MVP of the Under-20 Turkish NT last year, has emerged as a key player on the Turkish team, tucking away 17 points in Turkey’s victory. Engin Atsür did not get any PT again. I must trust to greater wisdom and that Tanjevic knows what he’s doing as long as they are winning, even if he team is full of guys who can’t hit their foul shots. Atsür hit 78% of his free-throws last year and is a 40% three-point shooter. But . . . higher wisdom. I did watch yesterday’s game on NBATV last night, and Engin looked ecstatic when they won. Very cool.

Now that FIBA.com is back up and all of their news articles are accessible, I figured out that Engin was never off the team. Dinc was apparently cut back around the 3rd of August, as I had thought. FIBA’s website crashed yesterday, and now that it is back up I am seeing feeds from a month ago I never got. Wonky marketing, and Atsur on the bench. Sigh. It is not a perfect world.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball

It must be the Atsür factor because Engin was on the Turkish national team for the first round of the FIBA World Championships. I can’t find out why, if it was at the last minute, if he was always on the team and the information was bad, or what, but Engin made it to Japan and onto the final roster, which completely made my night. I found out just before bed, then woke up to found out he won. Once I get more news I’ll post. It’s amazing how little things will just brighten me right up. I’m so glad for Engin. He deserves some success.

Afternoon update: according to the Turkish members of IBN, Engin most likely came on because Barış Ermiş has to undergo surgery. Engin was the only player who did not get PT in today’s game, but with luck he may get some minutes tomorrow against Australia (and it’s almost tomorrow in Japan). Turkey has a lot to prove in this championship because of their poor play the past few years and some really bad blood going on with their big stars; I hope Engin Atsür gets a chance to prove himself, too.

Tags: engin atsur, FIBA, wolfpack basketball