By Bugra Uzar/ info@eurohoops.net
Turkish Basketball Federation and former NBA veteran Hedo Turkoglu talked about how Cedi Osman and Furkan Korkmaz, the stars of the country’s national team along with Ersan Ilyasova, are the future of the “12 Giant Men”
Here’s what Turkoglu said during the national team’s official presentation ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
“Of course, I’m trying to say this every chance I get. I believe that going to the NBA as soon as possible is very advantageous in terms of adapting, learning basketball, proving himself at that level and improve. Because I went to the NBA very early too. Believe me, they have nothing to lose, so many to win. We see it both in Cedi and Furkan. We may say that Furkan may have faced more unfortunate circumstances than Cedi due to his injuries, but he signed the NBA contract again and will continue with the Sixers. Cedi made good use of his luck. Apart from his physic, wit the basketball he played and the minutes he got improved his confidence and his perspective on basketball. It makes us very happy that these guys came to the national team at every opportunity. We are very happy that they are in this mindset and will be wearing this uniform for many years. They’re our future. I think the fact that our Turkish people do not leave them alone at every opportunity changes their perspective here at every time. So we can’t thank them enough.”