By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After adding Yaman Alisan, Roberts Blumbergs, Will Cummings, Angel Delgado, David Efianayi, Ebuka Izundu, Otis Livingston II, and James Palmer Jr. during the summer, Galatasaray welcomed back Can Korkmaz on Friday.
A few days before starting the 2024-25 installment of the Basketball Champions League with a home affair versus Rasta Vechta on Tuesday, the Lions boosted the roster with a familiar face in the form of the 31-year-old Turkish point guard.
Besides focusing on the Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi throughout his professional career so far, Korkmaz is a veteran of 41 appearances in the Champions League over the last four seasons. From one-year spells as a member of Turk Telekom and Pinar Karsiyaka to two seasons with Darussafaka Lassa. In the 2023-24 edition of FIBA Europe’s top-tier club continental competition, he tallied 8.7 points, 3.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.7 steals per contest to go with 9.7 points per BSL game at the domestic level.
Earlier experience with Galata ranged from 2018 to 2020 and in the 2012-13 campaign. Returning for a third stint, he will be looking to help the team based in Istanbul reach the Round of 16 of the BCL through a six-game double-legged round-robin schedule opposite Rasta Vechta, Promitheas, and ERA Nymburk in Group D of the Regular Season.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old small forward Andrija Josovic penned a multiyear contract with fellow Champions League outfit Bertram Derthona Tortona, shortly after being promoted to the senior team to participate in the training camp.