Turkish national coach stands behind Utah Jazz’s number three draft pick Enes Kanter – NBA News
Enes Kanter has received unequivocal backing from the head coach of Turkey’s national men’s basketball team after the player’s pedigree had been questioned very recently by another Turkish coach.
Responding to claims that the prodigious forward was not good enough to cut it in the NBA, Turkish coach Orhun Ene said he had every confidence in Kanter’s abilities. He revealed that Kanter had trained very well with the Turkish
team since joining up with the squad, despite not having played competitive basketball for over a year. Orhun was of the view that Enes had all the tools to be successful not only in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament but also in the NBA.
“I’m not the only one who’s happy about the performance of Enes Kanter’s in the national team. All my assistants, all of the executives, to sum it all everybody is happy with Enes and every one of us strongly believe that he will
be very successful both in the NBA and Turkish National Team” said Ene.
“Although he didn’t play for nearly one and a half year he quickly adapted to our team and established a position where he can show his basketball skills. Though he is very young what he can do on the basketball court is unbelievable.
I believe that he’ll even be better before Eurobasket 11 in Lithuania starts which is a great news for us.” He added.
Enes Kanter is a Turkish forward who has been in the United States for over a year, but was not able to play. The 6-foot-11 player enrolled in an American University and hoped to make his mark in American college basketball. However
as he had already played professional basketball back in his home country, the NCAA ruled him ineligible to play for Kentucky University.
Kanter therefore sat on the sidelines and joined the side in practice sessions for over a year. He trained with renowned American basketball coach Tim Grover before the NBA draft this year and played in some exhibition games to
showcase his talent.
He has a very polished game for someone his age. The player is believed to be skilful and adept at the offensive end. He could develop into a top NBA forward or centre if he cashes in on his enormous potential, following the trend
of European big men in the league like Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol.
Kanter was drafted as the 3rd overall pick by the Utah Jazz this year, behind only Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams. He was also the highest picked player in the draft that did not belong to the United States.
Tags: