By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Furkan Korkmaz is a player who has definitely caught a lot of attention from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Considering his age and his athleticism or simply by watching him move on court, you can easily understand why he is considered a top European prospect.
The Turkish 18 year old guard/forward of Anadolu Efes gave an interesting interview to DraftExpress where he talked about himself, his playing time in his team and how he feels about the upcoming Draft which he will enter.
Here are some parts of what Furkan Korkmaz said:
On his playing time:
Expectations definitely bring a pressure for me. When I get some minutes I want to give my best on court. Because sometimes I play, sometimes I don’t play. It is all about the coach’s decision. So when I play i try to make the most of it. But this is an important year for me because of the Draft. So I need more playing time.
On his playing position in comparison with his body:
I am 6 ft. 8 in. and still getting taller. I play either a shooting guard or small forward. But sometimes even as a point guard. In Euroleague it is hard to guard shorter players when i play as a point guard because the level is high and most of them are quite fast.
On being coached by Dusan Ivkovic:
This is my second year with Duda. He is a legend who has won many things. I am very happy that he is here for me and the team. I learn many things from him, especially when it comes to improve my weaknesses and my defense. In every practice i learn a lot from him.
On Anadolu Efes:
This is a team that has big targets. We want to reach the Final Four.
On his athletic abilities:
I am an one step jumper who has a balance on his jumping efforts. I like to jump like that and is more easy for me. When i was younger and I was watching NBA videos and dunks i was saying to myself “You have to try dunk the ball”. So I kept trying and improving until i did it.
On playing side by side with NBA Draft Picks (Dario Saric, Cedi Osman) or past NBA players (Derrick Brown):
We are talking about it. I have a special relationship with Derrick Brown who is a very good guy and we talk about the NBA. Cedi Osman is closer to my age and he is Turkish so we are talking about NBA and my improvement every day. I also like the game of Dario Saric a lot. He is a really good player and i respect him a lot.
On the possibility of playing in the NBA next year:
It is possible, yes.
On the Star Wars show he gave with Cedi Osman in the Turkish All Star Game:
We were discussing it for two weeks with Cedi Osma. He is nicknamed “Jedi” you know. We wanted to do something special and after a long discussion we came up with what we did.