By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
Anadolu Efes will take a page out of Turk Telekom’s playbook and start directly from the head coach of the team based in Ankara, Erdem Can.
Can, 42, will replace Ergin Ataman as the new boss of the Istanbul club, according to Eurohoops sources. Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi season MVP Tyrique Jones and Erkan Yilmaz will follow him from Turk Telekom to Efes.
The 2023 EuroCup Coach of the Year has a deal for a two-year contract.
Can was named head coach of Turk Telekom ahead of the 2022-23 season, following a one-year spell at the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach under Quin Snyder. From 2016 to 2021, he worked for Efes’ crosstown rival Fenerbahce. More assistant gigs range from Turk Telekom between 2008 and 2010 to the Turkish senior national team, PAOK, and Banvit.
Introducing himself to the top level of European basketball as a head coach, he led Turk Telekom to the championship game of the 2022-23 EuroCup season. At the domestic level, his side ranked first overall in the Regular Season with a 25-5 record topping both Fener and Efes but was eliminated in the Semifinals of the Playoffs by Pinar Karsiyaka in four games.
Tyrique Jones and Erkan Yilmaz incoming as well
Besides the new play-caller, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague club also has a deal with Jones and Yilmaz, among the key players in a solid season for Turk Telekom under Can. To be exact Jones has also other options but Efes has the advantage.
Jones, 26, averaged 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game over 54 appearances across the continental and domestic levels through the season. Coming out of Xavier, he displayed his talents in Israel and Italy before moving to Turkey.
Yilmaz, 25, finished his campaign with 12.7 points, 4.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks per contest over 59 appearances split between EuroCup and BSL.
Ergin Ataman to Greece
Ataman, 57, will become the new head coach of Panathinaikos. The latest stint at Efes starting in 2017 was highlighted by winning the EuroLeague in 2021 and 2022.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net