Watch out for Turkey
Hi everybody,
My name is Cenk Akyol and for the next month or so I will be blogging here at HoopsHype.com about what I’m going through with the Turkish National before and during the European Championship. That will be my second experience in a major tournament with the senior team. I already played last year at the World Championship and we’re hoping here to build on the success we had in Japan.
If you ask me, the key for our team is to win the first game. When we did that last year, our confidence grew up a lot and we ended up having a great tournament. You always start off these tournaments with a lot of pressure and getting a win in the first game it’s like, “Whew!” If we do that again this year, watch out.
The turmoil in the National Team is something of the past. The atmosphere on the team was very good in Japan and it’s still very good this time. And now we have Memo Okur and Hedo Turkoglu playing with us! What we have, I think, it’s a very good combination of young players like me, guys that are stars in the NBA and veterans that have excelled in Europe like Ibrahim Kutluay. You don’t even know who the go-to guy is because there’s so much talent. (And anyway, stars don’t matter as much as the team does). Besides, we have have a coach in Bogdan Tanjevic that is not just a coach, but also our friend. That always helps.
Those who watch the Euroleague may already know me because I play for Efes Pilsen. Those who follow the NBA only may know me because I was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2005. I though I had a shot at making the team this summer. I went to Chicago to work out with Tim Grover and the Hawks brass saw me there. I thought they were impressed with what I proved there. I have improved a lot since I was selected in the draft when I was just 18 and I think it showed in Chicago. I will be back with Efes Pilsen this year, though, as the Hawks want me to hone my skills another season under David Blatt.
Hopefully I’ll be an NBA player by this time next year. We’ll see. For now, I’m focused in the Eurobasket. You’ll read about what’s going on there with me here. Bye!
Gary Said,
August 22, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
Good Luck in Spain!!!
Hopefully Turkey makes it to Beijing directly from Spain. We will see….
Also good luck with your game, hopefully u can join Hedo and Okur in the NBA…
Özgür Okan EROL Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 12:21 am
Sevgili Cenk,
İçeriye girip sayi bulmazsan, adam eksiltmezsen, geriye çekilip şut sokamazsan bu güzel İnglizce’nle senden sadece Basketbol yazarı olur. Milli takımda, ligde en büyük eksik combo guard tarzı oynayacak sporcumuzun olmaması. Bunu sen yapabilirsin.
jeff Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 2:30 am
hello, i’m jeff from france.
Sure i’ll watch you in spain for the european championship, but my heart still go to france and tony parker and boris..
my pronostics, 1: france
2: spain
3: turkey … i hope for you cenk
so..good luck man .and see you next in your blog.
Joe fowler Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 5:10 am
wsup cenk, goodluck man u got hedo thats gna be crazy making this tournament a good one to watch out for! good luck
Xou Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 5:24 am
Good luck but I think Greece, Spain and Lituania will be too strong for Turkey to clinch a direct spot to Bejing.
thetrapper Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 6:31 am
hey there Cenk
your ex-bigfan speaking here
man you were the LJ of Turkey ( in terms of potential ) before the last season but when i think about what you have gone through you reallyy upset all the fans like me . we re thinking huge about you man , you Oguz SAVAS, Ersan and Semih was the “future” of Turkish national team. what happened man ?
anyway i still think that you have a bright future if you work very hard becouse u re very talented and we all know what you are capable of. i hope you will work hard and i hope the last bad season will be a blessing in dusguise for you ( if you learn from your mistakes )
have a nice tournament. just work hard you have potential
jay Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 7:07 am
hey, i’m a huge atlanta hawks fan!!! when do you plan on coming to atlanta and helping us out??? we sure could use you!!!!
Fred Everett Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 7:08 am
As a very long time Hawks season ticket holder, I wish you well in the European Championship…and a speedy trip to the NBA. The Hawks have a dynamite young team you would very much enjoy playing for.
laurynas Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 7:13 am
Turkey looks not bad on paper. Still Spain and Lithuania are the best. Greece will not repeat its miracle the second time - other teams are ready now.
Sedat Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 7:29 am
Cenk!
You are one of the most talented players in your age group in Europe but yor inconsistency (A big problem for all Turkish athletes) may cause you to have a short NBA experience.
So i recommend you not giving up working hard. It is the main rule to stay in NBA. Then we will see if you will be like Memo, Hido or Mirsad, Fotsis, Milic..)
goboy Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Sorry but usa takes gold this year
thanks to kobe, and carmelo
Baris Mutlu (IST) Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 8:43 am
slm cenk abi =)…
bence bizim takim en iyi oyununu oynasa kazanir fransa ipanya yunanistan yalan olur… ama hucumda topu iyi yonetemiyoruz bence gereginden fazla dis sut kullaniyoruz… neyse siz tabiki daha iyi bilirsiniz basarilarr!!!!
Boss Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Cenk, good luck in the European Championships. I hope we’ll get to see you here in Atlanta on the Hawks someday. Keep working hard and you’ll make it.
PiswGorilla Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 11:54 am
If there are no big upsets look for Greece to play Spain in the final. The rest is wishful thinking…
Tasos Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
good luck for the coming european championship, Okur and hedo are very big additions to an already well coached team. Although Spain and Greece are the favorite Lithuania is better and Servia to I can’t wait for the games to start. Last night I was watching Acropolis tournament at OAKA stadium Italy was a letdown Belinely had the worst games ever he was shooting like 10% FG
john freeman Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
Your team played Latvia recently, yes? For the sake of us Golden State Warriors fans, please give your impressions of how Biedrens played. I didn’t see it, but some folks on the W’s group did and they said he played very well against Okur :). thanks!
Ararat Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 6:11 pm
Cenk -Not being able to play on a pathetic team such as the Atlanta Hawks for 2 years shows that basketball may not be your calling. Players such as Sasha Vujacic have made it with the Lakers and your name has yet to be heard. Keep trying , maybe someday you will make it and prove all those doubters wrong
Ararat Said,
August 23, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
If Turkey plays the USA, the final score would be USA 144 Turkey 64, thats how bad it would be !
goboy Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 7:10 am
cenk, you just have a cool name
and i love the fiba basketball so far
the players are so aggressive and rough on defense
and nobody is backing down from kobe
brazil vs usa
trao Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 7:49 am
Spain will win the eurobasket, they have a bunch of players that are far much better than the rest of teams, they’ve already won 2 time lithuania by 20 and yesterday they won germany by 15, and all this without jorge garbajosa, one of the greatest spanish players. watch out for claderon, navarro, pau , rudy fernandez, mumbrú or felipe reyes. the better roster in the eurobasket for sure
Assassin23 Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 8:24 am
slm cenk…
blog’un çok güzel olmuş, devamını bekliyoruz
]. ayrıca hücumda uzun oyuncunun sıkıştığı anlarda geri kalan 4 oyuncumuz onu izliyor, hareket halinde olup boş şutu yaratmalıyız. bunlar benim gördüklerim, tabiki siz daha iyisini bilirsiniz…
dün izmir’de oynadığınız hırvatistan maçını izledim ve haliyle çok üzüldüm. yer yer savunmada sert baskıyla rakibi bunaltsakta hücumda istediğimizi yapamayınca bunun bi anlamıda olmadı. tabiki şampiyonada daha iyi performans sergileyeceksiniz [en azından temennimiz bu yönde
good luck
goboy Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
by spain winning it
does that mean they are better than usa in basketball?
or what does that mean for usa, that there superstars are not better than
the stars of spain,
i thing the nba should close down, and not play in the year 08 or 09
if the nba players cany beat gasols team
goboy Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 6:36 pm
cenk can you guard allen iverson?
Dalmatia Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
Croatia beat Turkey a few days ago. Go CROATIA!
Eric Said,
August 25, 2007 @ 9:41 am
Hi Cenk,
Who is the leader of the team, Memo, Hedo or Ibo?
Either due to lack of mental preparedness, or due to the exhaustion of an 82 game season, Memo and Hedo have seemed to lack the intensity that we would expect from them when playing for their nation. Do you expect them to be sharper and more focused this time?
What are your expectations of Ersan?
I hope to see yourself, Memo, Hedo and Ersan all playing in the NBA in the same season. I remember watching you when you were 16 and thinking you were born to play basketball. Your court vision and instincts were remarkable. The Hawks have obviously seen this and will in due course allow you to showcase your skills in the NBA.
A group of us in Sydney, Australia will be watching every game you play in the championships. We’ll be cheering from here mate. Make us proud.
Martijn Said,
August 26, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
Merhaba Cenk,
Iyi sanslar orda. Ben seni çok seviyorum. Ben bir Hollanda’li, ve ben gitti Istanbul’da 5 ay zaten. Iki hafta önce ben geliyor evde (Hollanda). Ben çok görmek basketbol orda, siz mükemmel!!
Insallah siz gidiyorsiniz Olympic Oyuncular,
iyi günler dostum
Mr.European Said,
August 27, 2007 @ 3:26 am
Dear Cenk,
I suppose that was a rather cheap way of buying some interest towards you, as a player, from the basketball fans. The blog is under the name of “Watch Out for Turkey”, intended to describe the national team in the upcoming Eurobasket championship. And why should we watch out for it? Only because you play well, once you “win the first game”? or because you’ve selected the best turkish players for this event? Hmmm… interesting.. many other teams (like Spain, Lithuania, France, Greece et.al) also have the best players on the court. Almost half of the article was devoted to describe your career in Europe and NBA drafts… what does it have in common with the Eurobasket? You can write blogs like, “Cenk finally to be invited by the Hawks?” or “Cenk - the future of Turkish basketball?” etc. Your interest is only winning some attention from the fans and NBA teams. I don’t believe this is the best way of doing it (I mean, writing blogs with a great deal of panegyric to yourself). You should better concentrate on working for becoming a better player instead of trying showcase your skills at literacy… maybe that would work a bit better
drewfernandes Said,
August 27, 2007 @ 9:45 am
hi cenk
i always root for you guys since hedo is one of my favorite players. i hope your team goes toe-to-toe with france and spain.. my home nation of the philippines was recently unlucky as they fell out of the olympic qualifiers in the fiba asian games.
good luck to turkey!
best regards
drew
35½ KARSIYAKA FAN! Said,
August 28, 2007 @ 5:02 am
John Freeman
I watched the game Turkey against Latvija. Also other games of Latvija. Biedrins keeps going to be perfect. He is not yet but he will be if he works. Nice rebounding talent, good boxout, scoring potential, athletic ability.
Cenk
umarim bu yorumlari okuyorsundur. Dunya alem biliyor yetenegini ama lutfen cok calis. kas, zorluklara dayan ve milli takimin vazgecilmezi ol, hem de NBA’e git ve orada hizla ilerle. Yetenegini heba edersen cok yazik olur.
Kemal Said,
August 28, 2007 @ 6:07 am
Hi Cenk,
I hope you have opened yourself a blank page after an unfortunate season. I know you have “the potential” to be the number one guard of Turkey, but you know you “have to” work hard in order to realize your dreams. Having a mount of gold doesn’t mean anything if you don’t spend or use it. I don’t expect anything from the roster of Turkey right now, even though they can be successful in European Championship. Prepare yourselves for 2010 World Championship, which will be held in Turkey! I t would be very nice to witness the progress of you, Ersan Ilyasova, Engin Atsur and Hakan Demirel until 2010. If we apply correct policies in terms of preparations for 2010, it won’t be a dream to play the final game against the USA. I really mean it!
LastSoul Said,
August 29, 2007 @ 2:35 am
CALDERON-NAVARRO-GARBAJOSA-PAU GASOL- MARC GASOL
with rudy fernandez, sergio rodriguez, felipe reyes and other great players in the bench. Clearly, playing at home, Spain is the favourite. Other teams with options are Serbia, Lithuania, Greece, Turkey… but no option I think. Germany is only Nowitzki and France is a quarter final team.
1- Spain
2- Lithuania
3- Greece
4- Turkey
authority Said,
September 2, 2007 @ 8:17 am
TO ARARAT
if USA plays the ARMENIA, it would be USA 144 ARMENIA 14
if Turkey plays the Armenia it would be horrible for Armenians.
ZELIHA!! Said,
September 4, 2007 @ 2:51 am
merhaba cenk!
Im from Australia and i love watching the turkish national team i try to watch every single game im a big of you!!
good luck!! its going to be great with memo and hedo on the team
email me =)
turkish_delight969@hotmail.com
Jesus Said,
September 5, 2007 @ 9:00 am
Hey Cenk the european championship started 2 days ago, your team have played 2 games (both losses) and you haven’t writed anything here since ur first post. Are you going to write it after the championship? Because in that case it would be a report more than a blog.
Anyway this championship already has a clear winner. Spain.
Nick Said,
September 8, 2007 @ 7:57 am
Hey Cenk,
What happened? Loss by -30 to Germany made you have 2nd thoughts about blogging?
Forget it, man. Team effort pushed you last year in Japan, but now in Spain -as well as in Belgrade two years ago- Hedo and Memo are completely ruinnning the chemistry.
ugur Said,
September 9, 2007 @ 9:55 am
ya cenk sen olmycan aq olm sennle lise şampiyonasında karsılıklı oynadık orta sahadan üçlük atıodun ama zamanla fazla havaya girdin efeste kadro dışı kaldın şimdi milli takımda süre alamıosun bu kafaylada gidersen senden hiç bi skim olamaz…