By Giorgos Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
This year’s Darussafaka are made for big things since it’s been proven many times that money in sports can bring success. The Turkish club has one of the biggest budgets in the entire Euroleague and has created a roster that can square up to any opponent at home and abroad.
The lack of experience however is one of their biggest issues since this is going to be only Darussafaka’s second participation in the tournament. In last year’s maiden season, the fourth representative of Turkish basketball in the Euroleague managed to reach the Top 16, proving that they are a team with great potential that is going to make a bigger bang in the near future.
Signings
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration for someone to say that in the transfer period Darussafaka gave a show of strength. The additions that stand out are definitely those of Moerman, James Anderson and Wanamaker, since these are names that were in the sights of top European clubs but who chose Turkey as their destination.
Alongside them, some important supplementary players were acquired, such as Dairis Bertans (Bilbao), Birkan Batuk (Efes), and Will Clyburn (Hapoel Holon), with the first two already having seen a fair amount of action at the top level and the last one having a great offensive talent.
Coach
Darussafaka’s greatest hope for something big this season comes from the bench and that is of course David Blatt. At 57 years of age, the Israeli-American coach has proven that he knows better than most how to lead a team all the way to the top of Europe, something that he achieved in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Besides, we’re talking about the only coach in the Euroleague who has an NBA championship ring, thanks to his great success with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They will be satisfied if…
… they manage to get in the top eight, for starters, and then go the extra mile into the Final Four! It’s not easy to enter the elite of European basketball within a single year, but Darussafaka’s ambition and… funds are unlimited. The team has been built with the purpose of playing a leading part and the club has all the necessary elements to reach very high.
We are anxiously waiting to see…
… how David Blatt is going to make a set of new players find chemistry. The distinguished coach returns to the Euroleague in what is one of the most difficult… experiments of his career, but the materials that he has in his hands are more than useful.