By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Aiming to go all the way in the Basketball Champions League, Gabriel Olaseni launched his third campaign in style, establishing himself as a leading player for Darussafaka.
Extending brilliant form, he recorded 20 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists against the Bakken Bears Wednesday night.
“It felt good. We were coming off a loss in the domestic league. The guys were focused. The coaches gave us a great plan on how to attack them,” he described the environment supporting the solid showing in an exclusive interview with Eurohoops, “They were finding me and I was trying to make the right play every time.”
Olaseni, 30, became the first player drawing over 20 points, ten rebounds, and five assists in one single game of the 2022-23 BCL season and the first overall since Hans Vanwijn logged 22 points, ten assists, and five assists for JDA Dijon against Keravnos in January 2021. Combined the double-double with seven dimes and in the process flirted with a triple-double. This drew comparisons in the following practices.
“A couple of the younger guys were calling me that,” he said on being labeled as Dacka’s Joker by his teammates stemming from the contribution close to back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, “I just tried to make the right play when I need to shoot it when I need to make a defensive play. When I see a gap in the defense, I try to make the right play. Guys just made shots and I was happy with those assists.”
Going into Gameday 2 of the Regular Season, he scored a team-high 14 points in the narrow loss to Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem a couple of weeks back and also averaged 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest over his first three appearances in the 2022-23 edition of Turkey’s BSL. Further tracking of enhancements spills into a productive run with Great Britain during the offseason, in 2022 EuroBasket and 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. A good run, to say the least.
Opting to stay at Dacka for a second season in a row, Olaseni was familiar with the system and coaching philosophy of experienced tactician Selcuk Ernak and carries the experience of playing alongside several teammates from the 2021-22 campaign.
“It was an easy decision,” he commented on running it back, “I have played a few years here in Turkey. Just having the continuity. I knew some of the domestic players were going to stay. With the coaching staff, we have trust and communication. Returning to the same league, you kind of know what to expect. Returning to the same team was something I haven’t done in my career before. Just developing those relationships, continuing them, and just leaving a lot on the table in terms of going with the team to the BSL Playoffs and also in the BCL. Coming back to try and improve individually and as a team, I think we are in a good position to make more steps this season.”
His side is currently 1-1 in Group E of the BCL and 1-2 domestically. However, the three losses were all on the road opposite teams the likes of Anadolu Efes and Turk Telekom, apart from Hapoel Jerusalem. Moreover, it is certainly way early in both competitions. As for the team’s third participation in the Champions League, the goal is set and concerns the title, Olaseni told Eurohoops.
“You can speak to the coaching staff and the players, the only reason we are in the competition is to try to win the whole thing. Obviously, we can’t focus on a championship, we just played our second game,” he made it clear, “We are taking it game-by-game. You want to progress and show improvement. From the first Jerusalem game, I think we showed improvement against the Bakken Bears. We just want to continue to improve. I think if we continue to do that, we will be the last team standing at the end of the year. That is the ultimate goal. We just have to take it game-by-game. If everyone does what they are meant to do and we keep progressing, I think we will achieve our goals.”
Rewinding to the 2021-22 edition of the Champions League, the Istanbul outfit barely survived the Regular Season with a 2-4 W-L tally good enough for the third seed in Group G. Into the first edition of BCL’s Play-In Round, it lost Game 1 to Hereda San Pablo Burgos but bounced back with two wins in a row to eliminate the then back-to-back champions. Reaching the Round of 16, a 4-2 record fell short in a three-way tie with Baxi Manresa and Tofas and led to the exit, instead of the Quarterfinals.
Coming out of Iowa in 2015, Olaseni went undrafted and joined the Miami Heat for the NBA Summer League, before signing with Brose Bamberg. From five early-season appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, he was loaned to the Giessen 46ers for the rest of the season in November. The next season, he introduced himself to the Champions League making his way to nine games of the Regular Season during his spell at Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari.
“I think I was in a bad spot in my career. Not having a lot of confidence, trust in myself and my skills,” he recalled his debut in FIBA’s top European club continental competition, “Six years have flown by, but I can see the development of myself as a player. I think I have improved in every aspect, which is what you want from a professional career. You want to be able to look back, definitely in the previous year and six years back, and see a lot of improvement.”
After displaying his talents in France and Germany, including the 2018-19 productive run in the FIBA Europe Cup, he opted to move his talents to Turkey. And five years separated from his previous appearance, he joined Darussafaka and was finally back in the BCL. He averaged 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
“I think I have developed a lot. I have grown more into a man. I think it is just all confidence,” he shared the secret in constantly elevating his game, “Confidence is big, it can take you a stretch of five games to get it back but it can be gone in one possession. I just try and stay confident and level-headed. At the end of the day, just know that work brought me to this point. Continue to work is going to keep me there as long as I want to.”
The British center, a longtime key member of the senior national team of his country, sticking around along with floor general and ace defender Dogus Ozdemiroglu and American forward Wayne McCullough. A solid base to build on, incoming players such as Markel Starks, Can Korkmaz, and Ercan Osmani make the 2022-23 season look promising.
“I think we definitely improved our depth,” Olaseni replied to a question about the upgrades completed by the Turkish team.
After a couple of home games in the Turkish League, Darussafaka will refocus on the BCL and play host to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg on 2 November.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League