Notable from born in 2002 to 2005 Turkish prospects #1

I’m Kuzey, 19. I’ve been writing about basketball since I was 9. I have been working in Eurosport Turkey for the last 1,5 years. I have written on various sites and magazines before. I’ve been working as a freelance scout for three years. I worked as a consultant. I have interviewed dozens of prospects such as Theo Maledon, Deni Avdija, Henri Drell, Aleksej Pokusevski, Arturs Kurucs, Yves Pons and dozens of notable basketball people such as Luis Scola, Xavi Pascual, Jonathan Givony, Dimitris Itoudis, Joan Plaza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Derrick Williams. I write an article every day. I live in Turkey, I go to all the Euroleague and Youth League games. MY BIGGEST GOAL IS SCOUTING! Anyway, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and feel free to DM!

I started a new series. I will write about three interesting Turkish prospects every two days. These are not very detailed reports, just a preview, detailed with background, coming soon.

Batın Tuna — TOFAŞ — Point Guard — 2003

Batın Tuna possesses good size at 6-foot-7 with a strong upper body. Has long and strong arms, good core and chest muscles, need width on his shoulders. For his lower body, has good hip turns, quick footwork, and pretty nice vertical pop and lateral movement for his age in my opinion. He needs to add gain weight with muscles but for now, not too bad. In my opinion, Batın Tuna’s playing style is that of a more traditional point guard but his length makes him a special point guard. I mean, Batın is not a good slasher and can’t create his shot around the 3-pointers line but also he is not a just pick-and-roll handler or something. Thanks to his combination of crafty handling and length, Batın uses his body well to maintain possession of the ball and limit turnovers, after that, he can finishes positions with good layup/floater package: Quick first-step, change direction ability both on ground and air, reverse if he needs, knows how to use the rim for a bucket and consistency. BT is not the main passer, just read and reacts well but showed some flashes on that. Like at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship, he made a lot of crafty assists with wide court vision and drive & dish skill. He can play above the rim, runs transition well and after that run, he can finish position with huge aggressiveness. A good athlete has great arsenal for offense but the end of the day needs to work on his all three levels shots. Tuna has solid lateral quickness when he maintains a low defensive stance in my opinion. Thanks to his length and good BBIQ, he can guard multiple positions consistently. He is not a good off-ball defender, also does some timing mistakes in pick-and-roll situations. However, he is just 17 y/o and has a lot of time to be better. In my opinion, his amazing work ethic will help him to do it.

Yiğit Onan — Fenerbahçe Beko — Small Forward — Born in 2002

Yiğit Onan possesses great size for his position and age standing 6-foot-8 with to go along with a well-developed frame and quickness. Has a scoring instincts player, he needs things to be better physically but for now, there is no lack. I mean, from his feet to his head, everything enough for his age and position in my opinion. Onan, who is the son of famous Turkish basketball player Ömer Onan, has the skill set and versatility to play multiple positions on both ends of the floor. His court vision, ball-handling package, and passing repertoire make him a creativity player. He is smart in pick-and-roll player both as a handler and roller. He is a good dribbler, especially, in the transitions but has learn to control the game tempo. Sometimes, plays with lack of awareness. For the shooting window, with above-the head release and good arc, Yiğit Onan is an inconsistent shooter from long-distance at this stage of his career, has a lot of room, but showed that he can create his shots all zones of the court. So, promising shooter. YO’s good BBIQ, pro basketball genes and competitiveness often make up for his lack of athleticism. He running to passing lanes well and makes move with good eye-hand coordination and timing. Has good rebounding skill-set (vertical pop and BBIQ), showing good anticipation around the basket. On the defensive end, Onan has to learn off-ball, pick-and-roll and transition defenses in my opinion.

David Mutaf — Minnesota Gophers (probably) — Shooting Guard — Born in 2002

Standing 6-foot-5 with a strong frame, David Mutaf plays bigger and stronger than his capacity in my opinion. DM’s athlectisim package is not exactly explosive and smooth. He has some explosive and smooth things but not a “word” athlete. A player with high scoring instincts, David able to create his own shot off the dribble, reading what the defense gives him. I think he is a sharpshooter from distance, showing an impressive ability to knock down 3-pointers off the catch and off the dribble. For his shooting window, I think has a solid mechanic with a combination of good range, quick release & footwork and nice rotate. He also has a mid-range repertoire: Pull-up jumpers and floaters. He is not the worst passer and handler in the world but has a lot of room to learn to pass and handle things. I mean, he needs some shiftiness and craftiness skills to create spacing for others. He showed drive & dish sometimes but not consistent. He can plays around the rim with take contact, soft touch and change direction ability. A reliable scorer from all-three levels, Mutaf is an excellent rebounder for his position and size. On the defensive end, he plays with good intensity and flashing very quick hands. However, has to be more active, quick. Also, should learn to perimeter rotate.