Cenk Akyol blog

[DrReality]

Hi everybody,

My name is Cenk Akyol and for the next month or so I will be blogging here at HoopsHype.com about what I’m going through with the Turkish National before and during the European Championship. That will be my second experience in a major tournament with the senior team. I already played last year at the World Championship and we’re hoping here to build on the success we had in Japan.

If you ask me, the key for our team is to win the first game. When we did that last year, our confidence grew up a lot and we ended up having a great tournament. You always start off these tournaments with a lot of pressure and getting a win in the first game it’s like, “Whew!” If we do that again this year, watch out.

The turmoil in the National Team is something of the past. The atmosphere on the team was very good in Japan and it’s still very good this time. And now we have Memo Okur and Hedo Turkoglu playing with us! What we have, I think, it’s a very good combination of young players like me, guys that are stars in the NBA and veterans that have excelled in Europe like Ibrahim Kutluay. You don’t even know who the go-to guy is because there’s so much talent. (And anyway, stars don’t matter as much as the team does). Besides, we have have a coach in Bogdan Tanjevic that is not just a coach, but also our friend. That always helps.

Those who watch the Euroleague may already know me because I play for Efes Pilsen. Those who follow the NBA only may know me because I was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2005. I though I had a shot at making the team this summer. I went to Chicago to work out with Tim Grover and the Hawks brass saw me there. I thought they were impressed with what I proved there. I have improved a lot since I was selected in the draft when I was just 18 and I think it showed in Chicago. I will be back with Efes Pilsen this year, though, as the Hawks want me to hone my skills another season under David Blatt.

Hopefully I’ll be an NBA player by this time next year. We’ll see. For now, I’m focused in the Eurobasket. You’ll read about what’s going on there with me here. Bye!

http://hoopshype.com/blogs/akyol/index.php...out-for-turkey/

[flava]

interesting. a lot of conflicting hype on this guy.

flava

[WraithSentinel]

We can afford to wait one more year with him seeing as we still got Salim. By next year a spot should open and I expect to see him playing in the Hawks uniform.

[mrhonline]

There very well could be room for a backup SG next year depending on what happens with Childress. Asking a young SG like Cenk would be the equivalent of acquiring a late 1st rounder IMO for "free."

[Swatguy]

You assume this guy can actually Play.

We better keep Chillz.

[mrhonline]

If it were only that easy.

1. You have to be willing to take the risk with young international players if you ever want to benefit from them.

2. Childress' value to the team is off the bench. That value is greatly diminished if he's costing $6-7M/year.

[bird_dirt]

i thought cenk was a pg? if so, there should definately be a spot for him next year as speedy and acie's back up.

[exodus]

Apparently a lot of fans in his country don't think he even belongs on their national team. BigDirty posted about this a couple of months ago.

[Lascar78]

He's a combo guard, but more of a SG. He would not be a first rounder at this point. I've been pretty disappointed when I've seen him play. He would do well in the NCAA, and he'll do well in Europe, I don't think he's really NBA caliber though.

[mrhonline]

Tim Grover likes him, at that infinitely more important than what 10 million raving Turkish fans think:

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Akyol is also in the States right now, working out with renowned trainer Tim Grover in Chicago. Grover seems to like him a lot from the conversation we had with him earlier today,

talking extensively about how well he shoots the ball, but also about his toughness, coachability, and the fact that “he’s a lot more athletic than people give him credit for.” Grover told us that he thinks Akyol should be able to make Atlanta’s roster and be effective for them, reminding us that he’s only 20 years old at the moment.

The Hawks will be going to watch Akyol play later this week before he heads back to Turkey to join the national team in preparation for the European Championship in Spain starting in September.

He’s reportedly only looking for a minimum contract, and would be amenable to being sent down to the D-League as well if he was asked to.

From what we’ve seen of Akyol with the Turkish National team and Efes Pilsen before he surprisingly fell out of his team’s rotation, he looks like he would have been a very intriguing prospect had he not kept his name in the draft back in 2005. They very well could have gotten a steal with the recommendation their international scout Mark Crow made in the late 2nd round.

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This is from last September:

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Coupling with Ilyasova, they formed the most dangerous and spectacular duo in the tournament. Actually, they were the only drafted guys taking part in the championship. Free of the huge offensive responsibilities that he assumed (and defensive attention that he suffered) in the European Junior Championship last summer in Belgrade, Akyol materialized his

nice shooting stroke with much better percentages, showcasing his range and ability to fire off the dribble, even in some complicated situations.

Earning a place on the All-Tournament Team, he was a pleasure to watch as always, displaying his

very fundamentally sound game, working off the dribble, passing the ball, taking decisions, and showing a lot of character. He is a winner, and cried like a baby after losing the gold in the final, actually the fourth consecutive summer that it happens to him.

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He sounds like a younger, taller, smarter Salim to me. Plus, David Blatt is one of the better coaches in Europe (a former PG), so that should help Akyol's development. The Turks can really shoot the lights out, so maybe Blatt can teach 'em some defense???

[exodus]

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Tim Grover likes him, at that infinitely more important than what 10 million raving Turkish fans think:

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OMG that has to be one of the most ridiculous things i have ever seen you post.

Grover is getting paid by Cenk. Of course he is going to say good things about him. Duh. He probably didn't even know who Cenk was before he started working for him.

And you think he knows better than the fans who watch Cenk play?

Here is what the fans think..

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Turkish guys on a german message board (many turkish people live in Germany that's why turkish sports are discussed there) think he kinda sucks right now:

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"Cenk Akyol flew to the USA and wants to go to the Hawks?? Too bad I'd say. He didn't impress for EFES this year. He was demoted to the 2nd team two times. This year he hurt EFES' play in Euroleague and in turkish league. Cenk Akyol has no chance in the USA. He should stay in Turkey and try to improve."

"Cenk is simply a pubertal boy that had performance issues because of relationship problems with his girlfriend. I look at Semih and Oguz, and then I look at Cenk...it's a difference like night and day. He doesn't stagnate, he developes from a top talent into an anti basketball player. We'll see what happens. I'll remain pessimistic concerning his future."

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Cenk was also nominated for the turkish national team and the turkish users are quite angry about it, here are some comments: (There was not a single positive comment ^^)

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"If Hakan Demirel and Cenk Akyol are on the 12 men roster, then I expect nothing from this European Championship."

"I can understand that Tanjevic wants to form a good team for the World Championships 2010, but it's wrong to reserve a place for players like Hakan Demirel & Cenk Akyol and knowingly send a weaker squad to the EM. I like Cenk and the EM could be a chance for him to regain his old strength but he simply doesn't deserve it."

"I hope Cenk and Hakan are not on the 12 men roster, they don't deserve it."

"How can you nominate a loser like Cenk for the national squad."

"Cenk Akyol no idea about basketball, how can you take such a loser to Spain."

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click

So you think you know better than the fans? How many times have you seen Cenk play?

*crickets*

[mrhonline]

Turkish fans on a message board are better evaluators of prospects than anyone else. Okay. Next thing I expect you to say is that Diesel's evaluation of Marvin Williams is 100% reliable. (Give me a break. The guy was 19 y.o. in a man's league. He'd have been a college freshman in the U.S). All Turkish fans care about is whether a player helps them win. You know as well as I do that inexperienced 19 y.o.'s don't often do that in pro leagues, and that fans of professional teams don't often have much patience.

The bottom line is that you take a risk on a player like Akyol for his growth potential, not solely on his current performance. Assuming the Hawks think he can contribute a little shooting off the bench, what harm is there in signing him to a minimum contract next season?

Regardless, what incentive does Grover have to rave about Akyol, Ex? Sure he's being paid, but it's not like raving incorrectly about a player would do him any good. He's going to get paid regardless of what he says, and Akyol is not any more likely to get an NBA contract because of Glover's opinion. The Hawks have their own scouts for that.

(And, if you really think this through, it would be wiser for Glover to not say anything positive about Akyol. That way, if he shows development, the credit would go to Glover).

[BigDirty]

Erm, those raving turkish fans have actually seen Cenk play for some seasons while Grover has seen him in WORKOUTS, so I'd say the fans opinion is worth more. Also turkish people are VERY proud people, they wouldn't diss one of their own if he didn't suck.

Cenk is also not a PG/SG tweener but a SG/SF tweener, he'll probably back up Kenny Gregory at the 3 spot this season.

He averaged 4.2 pts and 1.5 reb in 11:40 minutes per game in the turkish league. In Euroleague games he played 3 minutes per game, yet some of you guys seem to think that he could come here and become a main backup immediately. I'm not saying that he can't be good in the future, but he has to prove that last season was only a result of personal problems and wrong tactics used by the coach.

Oh I just found out that Turkey played against Latvia (with Biedrins) yesterday, Cenk was reportedly very bad and finished with 0 points and 1 rebound. You can watch the 3rd and 4th quarter here (I didn't watch it so I can't tell you which number he has):

http://latvija.tv/watch.php?id=17042

http://latvija.tv/watch.php?id=17043

[mrhonline]

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So you think you know better than the

scouts

? How many times have you seen Cenk play?

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FYP

No one disputes that Akyol had a disappointing season last year. That doesn't discount the fact that he still is one of the better young prospects in Europe.

No one is suggesting he's Manu Ginobili. What I'm saying is that (assuming he shows development under Blatt), it would be a good move to bring him over next offseason at a (relatively) cheap price to be the backup SG if Childress leaves. While he's no Manu, he definitely has the potential to be Bob Sura.

It's one of those low risk, high reward moves that non-contenders like the Hawks need to make if they want to maintain cap flexibility. (See Pachulia, Zaza).

[BigDirty]

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So you think you know better than the

scouts

? How many times have you seen Cenk play?

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FYP

No one disputes that Akyol had a disappointing season last year. That doesn't discount the fact that he still is one of the better young prospects in Europe.

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I seriously doubt that you're in a position to judge who are the better young prospects in Europe. Just because he was drafted and played in the national team doesn't make him one of the better talents in Europe, I could give you a looooooooooooong list of players that were drafted and/or played in the national team and never amounted to anything.

[mrhonline]

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Erm, those raving turkish fans have actually seen Cenk play for some seasons while Grover has seen him in WORKOUTS, so I'd say the fans opinion is worth more. Also turkish people are VERY proud people, they wouldn't diss one of their own if he didn't suck.

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I'd still take Glover's opinion because of the differences in the American and European games. He has proven many times that his opinion is solid. I think we can safely assume that Akyol has good potential (which is all Grover was saying to being with).

Did he lose confidence last season? Yes. Was he inconsistent? Yes. But you could say the same thing for Shelden Williams, who by many accounts was the most NBA ready big man in the draft last season.

Again, it's a low-risk, high-reward move you have consider if certain things fall into (or out of, depending on your perspective) place.

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yet some of you guys seem to think that he could come here and become a main backup immediately.

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I can't speak for the rest of "you guys," but I think the Hawks have to be considering him as an option for the backup SG role next season IF:

1. He shows development under Blatt.

2. Childress moves on to another team.

3. Law gets most of his minutes at PG.

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I'm not saying that he can't be good in the future, but he has to prove that last season was only a result of personal problems and wrong tactics used by the coach.

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I completely agree. Another poor season for Efes and he can kiss his NBA possibilities goodbye

[exodus]

Quote:

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Quote:

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So you think you know better than the

scouts

? How many times have you seen Cenk play?

---

FYP

No one disputes that Akyol had a disappointing season last year. That doesn't discount the fact that he still is one of the better young prospects in Europe.

No one is suggesting he's Manu Ginobili. What I'm saying is that (assuming he shows development under Blatt), it would be a good move to bring him over next offseason at a (relatively) cheap price to be the backup SG if Childress leaves. While he's no Manu, he definitely has the potential to be Bob Sura.

It's one of those low risk, high reward moves that non-contenders like the Hawks need to make if they want to maintain cap flexibility. (See Pachulia, Zaza).

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When did Grover become a scout?

[mrhonline]

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I seriously doubt that you're in a position to judge who are the better young prospects in Europe.

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And I would never claim to be. Other far more capable have done that for us, and a little research on your part would validate my assertion.

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Just because he was drafted and played in the national team doesn't make him one of the better talents in Europe

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Straw in your hat givin' you the itches yet?

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I could give you a looooooooooooong list of players that were drafted and/or played in the national team and never amounted to anything.

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And you would have proven nothing relevant to my posts.

[mrhonline]

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When did Grover become a scout?

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Huh? When did Mark Crow cease to be one?

[exodus]

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When did Grover become a scout?

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Huh? When did Mark Crow cease to be one?

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Are you drunk or something?

Since you already seem to have forgotten what you wrote allow me to repost it.

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Tim Grover

likes him, at that infinitely more important than what 10 million raving Turkish fans think

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Grover is nothing but a personal trainer. He gets paid by players to train them. Yet somehow he knows better than all of the Turkish fans who have watched Cenk play?

Put the bottle down please.