By Semih Tuna / stuna@eurohoops.net
With its modest budget, Bursaspor eliminated the teams that set sail with the goal of crowning as the champions of the EuroCup, one by one, and managed to be considered highly successful even though it lost to Virtus Bologna in the organization, where it eventually reached the finals.
Bursaspor, which had its ups and downs at the beginning of the season, drew all the attention in European basketball by overcoming a huge obstacle and writing the story that is now engraved in our minds.
But… how did all this happen? We asked the heroes of this achievement about the historical success of Bursaspor…
Forming a family
Not only in the beginning of the season; but also even during mid-season, Bursaspor didn’t exactly seem to be a special force, as they turned out to be towards the end. Whatever happened, it happened after the mid-season and the team found its rhythm while marching to the EuroCup final. But how did the players decide sign for a team with a modest budget with not many expectations? Before moving on to the fairy tale of the Bursaspor, we would like to shed light on where it all started…
Dave Dudzinski: “I really enjoyed it in Antwerp, but I had done everything I wanted to do there and was willing to find my way. I had a desire to go elsewhere in the summer. The important thing for me was to go to a bigger league and prove myself elsewhere. In the early summer, Bursaspor made me an offer. I knew they were playing in the EuroCup, they were building something new.”
Derek Needham: “Actually, I was comfortable in Mornar Bar. I was looking for something new. I played in Montenegro for three years and I remember Dusan Alimpijevic coaching at Crvena Zvezda when Bursaspor called me. We had a historic match-up, where we were playing the playoffs for the first time in Mornar history. Also he called me. He remembered me from that time.”
Andrew Andrews: “When I left Türk Telekom, I went home. I wanted to look after my grandmother and be with my family. I got offers from several teams, but Bursaspor was one of the very few teams that gave the contract I had with Türk Telekom before.”
John Holland: “Of course, the situation in Russia is well-known now. EuroLeague also decided that Russian teams would not play, but I had just arrived at that time, and I was preparing to play, but my first game was canceled and I could not play at all. It was a misfortune. Of course, there is a war situation. When my teammates started leaving Russia, I didn’t want to be the last person staying, so I left. I was wondering what my next move would be because I wasn’t sure if I should go back to the US or continue playing here.”
Onuralp Bitim: “When I left Anadolu Efes, I wanted to go to a place where I could get some minutes and show myself. I chose Karşıyaka. Karşıyaka is both a club I love and a place where I loved the fans and felt loved. İzmir is a place that I can call my home, but now it’s a decision I wouldn’t have made if I went back to that time. It was a mistake for me to go to Karşıyaka. I wasn’t given anything I deserved in Karşıyaka. I have never been able to understand it, nor will I. I know that people in basketball understand everything already. I had a lot of good teammates and experiences. But I definitely got very little of what I deserved.”
Dave Dudzinski: “I think Derek (Needham) had just got on board too. I knew him a bit from the past. It seemed like a good situation for me. I wanted to test myself and see if I could continue my career at the next level, to be honest.”
Derek Needham: “Dusan told me he wanted to do something special this season. He beat me when he was against me. I said, ‘Let’s be on the same side this time.'”
John Holland: “My agent offered me the opportunity from Bursaspor. I had no idea, but I knew they had a chance to advance in the EuroCup playoffs. When I got there, I realized what a really good opportunity it was. You could see how good the team was together. It was already a family atmosphere when I came here. I tried to contribute to that.”
Allerik Freeman: “I already knew Allerik Freeman. Of course, I was very comfortable in Turkey as well. That’s why I thought this would be the most suitable option for me.”
Onuralp Bitim: “A crucial period began for me after Karşıyaka because after a choice I made a mistake, I had to make a choice where I could show myself more confidently, and I sat down with my agent and my family. We talked to coach and Nedim Yücel. This was the right place for me. There were offers from big clubs again, but we believed in a project. At the end of this, not only me, my family, my agent but all the fans understood how good a project it was. My purpose for coming to Bursaspor was that I could show myself in the best way, and besides that, I would be able to show myself in the best way both in Turkey and Europe. It was an opportunity where I could be successful both in Europe and Turkey.”
Dusan Alimpijevic: “We couldn’t win a game for 20 days when I came here. We were dealing with a huge COVID problem when I came. We could only find 6-7 people to do trainings. We couldn’t even play 5v5 in the first month. Despite this, the attitude of the president, GM, board members was always supportive. I even remember this one time when someone from the Frutti Extra came from Istanbul. He told me, ‘Don’t worry, coach, we will build a great future together with you, we already see your contribution.’ He also gave me a Turkish coffee machine as a gift because I’m a coffee maniac.”
Where did the fairy-tale start?
The fact that Bursaspor has achieved a historical success does not mean that the whole season was filled with a huge dream. After all, it is not always possible to achieve success without great struggles. It may even be considered impossible most of the time. We can understand this from the fact that Bursaspor finished the regular season in the seventh place and even played all their games away in the playoffs. So what happened, and this team crossed that border and became the dream team of Europe? The heroes tell…
Dave Dudzinski: “It was a difficult situation because we had the run but we were not stable. We were not playing at the same level in some games. I think the breaking point was the Galatasaray game we played at home in February because they beat us very well on the road. It was the first game after a long COVID break. Our rotation was very limited. We played. At that moment I thought, ‘We’re going to be okay, this team is really starting to gel.’ At that time, we started to surprise everyone.”
Derek Needham: “I said that exactly after the defeat against Cedevita Olimpija, actually. We lost that game, I think, by 20 points. We were away. We lost, but the team played differently, the players in the team seemed to be more bonded. We needed to make a few more changes. If Andrews had played in that game, something really special could have happened. I spoke to Andrew that evening. I said, ‘We have something here.’ I said, ‘You can’t see it probably because we’ve lost by 20, but I think we can win a lot of games if we stick to that and keep that identity.'”
Dusan Alimpijevic: “Actually, we realized at the beginning that something was special about this team, because the training the players did, their listening to what was told, their attention to their obligations at team meetings showed us that. It just took some time. Of course, nobody expected such a big success, but we expected it at the beginning of the year. ”
Andrew Andrews: “When I came here, I really thought the team would be a special team. I looked at the roster and when I got here I saw how hard everyone worked. At that time I thought we would be a special team. We had our ups and downs at first, but after Allerik left, after Egemen left, AB left too. and we played against Cedevita. I couldn’t play in that game. We played very well on the road. That’s when I said, ‘We have a special team.’ We played against a very strong Cedevita team.”
John Holland: “Actually the team was already playing well when I came. We lost to Gran Canaria and I was very upset because I was trying to bond with the team, but frankly, the team had already become a family and it felt like I was trying to join the team from outside. I tried to do my best, but they made everything so easy. Everyone played selflessly for each other.”
Onuralp Bitim: “Even though we lost in the Cedevita game, I said that if we do things well, we can reach a point that no one expects from us, but I have to say exactly when I felt really clear, we had a run where we beat Venezia, Bourg, Valencia and there was this crucial Promitheas game for us. We had to win it. We got into such a form that I was sure then that we are a very good team and we would get very good results whether this team goes all the way in the EuroCup or the league.”
Serhan Kavut (Bursaspor assistant coach): “If it was asked if Bursaspor would play the EuroCup final back in January 2022, no one would be able to say this, but it started with the Patras game inside, with the full involvement of the fans. I think that atmosphere was captured after the Patras and Bourg games.”
Buğra Bayazıt (Bursaspor assistant coach): “I got that feeling in the Cedevita game we played in Slovenia at the beginning of February. We lost that game. We played that game with 7 players. It went head-to-head in three quarters and we lost after that, but the reaction we showed there, that mental reaction we gave to each other was something very interesting. It was a spark. We came back from there, we had the chance to take the game to overtime against Fenerbahçe twice, again with the missing players. That week, we said that we are playing with a group of players with a really different mindset in the first week of February. You know what happened afterwards.”
John Holland: “This has been my feeling since I got here. We know how to play together. Everyone in the team is good people above all else. Everyone had the same goal. Everyone knew they wanted to win and we were ready to sacrifice everything to win. This was evident during my stay. The team won and it was a big win. Then everything started to settle down. We lost to Petkim, but in general we figured out what to do after that moment. Everyone had already started playing selflessly before I came in. I was very lucky and happy. It was a perfect fit at the perfect time. ”
Serhan Kavut: “I think in the Partizan game, it clearly showed that we are a very special team. After we won the Partizan game, we started talking very seriously among our own staff for the final. Partizan gave us a lot of confidence. I see the team’s debut game as Patras and Bourg games, but in the Partizan match. I realized we were a special team.”
Before Allerik Freeman vs. after Allerik Freeman
A dramatic turn took place in Bursaspor with Allerik Freeman’s departure for CSKA Moscow, as the team lost its player, who was scoring in loads. However, the positive reflections of this dramatic turn in the team were also clearly seen. Due to the changing roles, different players took more responsibility and Bursaspor assumed a different team identity.
Dave Dudzinski: “Allerik was playing really well and efficiently. His stats were very good. It’s hard to say that was the reason, but when he left it took time for players like Derek and Andrew (Andrews) to take responsibility and show that they can play basketball at the same level.”
Derek Needham: “Allerik was a big part of our offense. He was averaging 20 points per game. It was comfortable for me to give him the ball and get out of his way. When he left, everybody had to undertake more responsibility, including me.”
Dusan Alimpijevic: “We can’t say that one player’s dominance has been broken, but when Allerik Freeman left, we changed a lot. This is a normal thing in sports anyway. When a player leaves, something changes in the club and in the team, some players have to take that responsibility. Of course, their roles are also changing.”
Andrew Andrews: “When Allerik left, I think only the dynamics in the team changed. More was asked of me. I didn’t have the chance to do everything I could have done before with him. Because the team dynamics required this and I was doing what was asked of me. I was also occasionally scoring, but mostly playing the team, passing the ball. I had a fundamental role. Of course, we lost a serious offensive weapon when Allerik left.”
Onuralp Bitim: “After Allerik’s departure, it is very obvious that not only my game, but also the team’s game has improved for everyone. I will not say anything about this, but make no mistake: I had an injury at that time and was trying to come back from it. It was a bit of a painful injury. I was trying to get rid of this injury in the period before Allerik left. With Allerik’s departure, I was able to get to the level I wanted exactly as I regained my own health as well as the chance to use the ball.”
Serhan Kavut: “When you look at it as a full picture, we can say that it is one-man domination. Even earlier, when there was the possibility of his move Allerik, the coach used to tease me about Allerik because he was my man. I was training individually with Allerik, he loved training with me. In general, we were doing the individual training together. Therefore, of course, our relationship was really great, but after he left, the team improved in terms of assists, ball sharing, the team improved. Allerik is definitely not a bad player, he is a very good player. I personally like his game a lot, but while the chemistry was developing in the team, having Andrews-Allerik-Derek together in the team at the same time, something can go wrong there, because all three of them want the ball in their hands.”
Dave Dudzinski: “Of course you can’t say it was his fault, but after he left, the other players took responsibility, everyone came together. We were already going in that direction, but when he left, we had no choice.”
Derek Needham: “When he left, we knew that we had no chance to hand the ball to him and just step away, that we had to take responsibility for ourselves. Without him, everyone took responsibility and in a sense challenged us to get better.”
Andrew Andrews: “Fans in Europe now know that I can score too. So it was easy for me to get into this role. I started looking for my own shots. That was the only thing that changed when Allerik left. I had to be more aggressive on offense.”
Onuralp Bitim: “Allerik is a very good player, but basketball is a team sport. We see it in the EuroLeague, in the NBA and in the league, no matter how good a player is, at the end of the day, the most important thing is team chemistry, and once team chemistry reaches a level, it can only be then success is possible both individually and as a team. I also want to say that this, of course, does not mean that when Allerik left, we became a team. Everyone who came to this team are very valuable people and players. For many reasons, we became a better team after that period. I also became a better player. I performed well. The most important thing for me was my chance to use the ball more. The coach said in an interview that even he couldn’t understand what I could do at that time.”
Serhan Kavut: “Derek and Andrews are players who like to share the ball a little more than Allerik. Of course, after Allerik left, the team was a bit better in both ball sharing, on and off the court. This was very clear. Not every player is suitable for every team. In my opinion, Allerik is definitely a EuroLeague-level player. This does not show that he is a bad player obviously. But you have to take into account different things while signing a player.”
Buğra Bayazit: “Maybe it was very, very unlikely that everything would find its place like this with Allerik gone, but it did. Because there was a certain responsibility, and that responsibility was not required to be taken by one person anymore, it had to be distributed to everyone.”