By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Since when Galatasaray decided to move to the Basketball Champions League, back in the 2020-21 season, they have never really fulfilled their ultimate goal.
Entering the new competition, they stopped in the Regular Season; in the three consecutive and following campaigns, they haven’t overcome the Round of 16, never getting more than two victories in such a stage. With one game left, they’re now 3-2 in Group J with fate in their hands.
After surviving lately in the Play-Ins against Saint-Quentin, going very close to an early elimination against the newcomers, they have indeed shifted their BCL season around.
Beating Unicaja to break the reigning champions’ 18-game and 15-month winning streak in the competition was something unpredictable, but the Turkish Lions managed to turn the impossible into reality. Winning last week against Rytas Vilnius, moreover, boosted their qualifying chances.
“You always want to find consistency, especially in this part of the season where games are most important. Right now we’re finding our groove,” James Palmer Jr. told Eurohoops. He’s clearly right.
Player on the court, recruiter off the court
Consistency is the key word to sum up the recent struggles for one of the biggest Turkish powerhouses in the history of the country, sports-wise. If they haven’t managed to meet expectations in the past few seasons, it’s because they couldn’t find balance within competitive groups.
This season, despite starting the Round of 16 with a 20-point loss (86-66) in Vilnius, they managed to turn their chances around pretty quickly, getting to face the countryman Manisa on Tuesday.
“Each and every game we’re getting better and focused on the small details to help us win games,” Palmer added. “I feel we have a strong team. When we’re locked in, we’re tough to beat, especially defensively. We have a lot of guys offensively that can help us,” he said.
“We’re obviously locked in right now to try go as far as we can, and stack as many wins as we can.” If it wasn’t for the 28-year-old forward, they wouldn’t probably be in this position.
Not only because he’s consistently delivering on the offensive end, averaging 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in this season’s Basketball Champions League, but also because he also acted like an assistant general manager for the club.
Ironically asked if that’s his plan, he didn’t deny it. “That’s what is starting to look like. The crazy thing is that’s just the way things happen,” he started explaining.
“Michael [Young] was going through some things with his last team in South Korea, so he basically gave me a call, and at the time we had two guys injured as well: it was a perfect time, I told the coach to look at him. He played in Turkiye with Bursaspor last year as well, he wasn’t a new guy to the TBSL.”
“They knew what he was capable of doing and they thought it was a good thing to bring him on,” Palmer continued on Michael Young, his former teammate with Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski, back in Poland.
“Kind of the same thing with Ty [Tyrone Wallace]. I don’t know if things didn’t work out with Zalgiris, but we were looking for another guard and the coach asked me how would I feel if we brought him on. I played with him last year. And it was good.”
Even Tyrone Wallace, who also joined the team once the season started, was one of his former teammates at Agua Caliente Clippers and at Turk Telekom Ankara. Ebuka Izundu, instead, was with him at the University of Miami, where James Palmer Jr. stayed for two seasons before transferring to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“We’re all good friends, and on the court, it just makes it much easier when we have relationships off the court as well. Not only between Americans but with the Turkish guys as well; we have a great group of guys, we gel pretty well off the court and it makes it easier for us to play with each other.”
Alongside his former teammates, he found a special chemistry even with one of the backcourt finest players in recent memory talking about overseas basketball: Will Cummings.
“Will is a great player, obviously he’s a veteran player. He voices his opinion whenever he feels something is right or not. He’s a vocal hand, leading by demonstration as well. He helps us a lot, getting to the paint, and kicking out. He knows how to play the right way, I love to play with Will. And he’s a competitor.”
How to beat Unicaja?
Whether this season will turn into a glorious one for Galatasaray, maybe marking their way to the club’s first-ever Basketball Champions League Final Four, it’s still up for grabs.
What’s sure is that James Palmer Jr. also met one a likely future projected NBA Draft pick like Nolan Traore. “He’s a great player. Obviously, he’s got things to work on, but as far as the potential goes, he’s a young guy pushing the tempo. He’s got a good pace for his game,” he said about the 2006-born guard.
“He’s able to drive and kick finding his open teammates. He’s a guy people should definitely keep an eye on in the future. He has a lot fo intangibles: speed, he’s athletic, he can finish at the rim. The style of play that those guys play with him at the point guard is very dangerous. He’s a phenomenal player.”
Another guard he went up against is Jordan Walker, who recently broke the record for most points scored in a single BCL game. “I’ve seen the highlights. He’s a good player as well, the system that is run over there for him is made preferably for him,” he said about Promitheas’ leader.
“They let him play his game, let him get up shots. He’s a good scorer, it was definitely a phenomenal performance.” His 54-point performance was one for the ages in the Basketball Champions League and not only, having overcome other American players who have managed to score at such a high level.
🪣 20 PTS
10 REB
🪙 7 AST
24 EFF
+23
W
Not a bad day at the office for James Palmer Jr.
#BasketballCL | @GSBasketbol pic.twitter.com/xs13OBJz23
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) February 5, 2025
Among them, there’s Shane Larkin, who was one of the most memorable members of the Miami Hurricanes, some years prior to James Palmer’s college commitment. “I knew he went to the University of Miami, but that was years before me. I was still in high school,” he opened up about him.
“But we have a good connection now. It’s a small one, we see each other and we don’t have deep conversations. But he’s definitely a good person, and I’d love maybe one day to play alongside him. Our relationship is pretty cool.”
However, the big answer regarding the Turkish team’s BCL season still relies on one question: how did they beat Unicaja? “They’re a great team, they have a winning history, They’ve won a lot of games in the last few years. Obviously, they’ve been dominating in the BCL,” Palmer said.
“Coming to the game, we wanted to focus on taking away things they love to do and play our game. Offensively it’s hard to guard us because we have so many weapons, a lot of guys who can shoot and score the basketball. It’s hard to guard us,” Galatasaray’s forward continued.
“And when we’re locked in defensively, we push the pace, and play our game, it’s tough to stop us. They’re a great team, they’re well-organized, and they know exactly what they’re doing when they step on the floor. Anytime you make a mistake, they’re gonna punish you for it. They’re a great team.”
After getting a 1-1 record against both Unicaja and Rytas Vilnius, between Galatasaray and their first Basketball Champions League there’s only a win against the already-eliminated Manisa. James Palmer Jr. proved that his team can beat anybody; we’re ready to discover more down the line.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League