Turkey is one of the latest nations to announce their preliminary player pool for for the upcoming FIBA World Cup, which will commence in a couple of months' time in China.
The Turkish national squad will be dominated by players playing in the country's domestic league, but the team will also have no less than three NBA players on their side in the form of Milwaukee Bucks big man Ersan Ilyasova, Cleveland Cavaliers incoming third-year wing Cedi Osman, and former Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz. This is via Stefan Djordjevic of Eurohoops.net.
Their preparations will start on July 1 and Sarica will count on 26 players. The preliminary squad features three NBA players in Cedi Osman, Furkan Korkmaz and Ersan Ilyasova.
Ilyasova is the veteran in this trio, with the 31-year-old already entering his 12th year in the league next season. He signed a three-year deal with the Bucks last summer, and will be earning close to $15 million over the next two seasons. Last year, Ilyasova averaged 6.8 points, 0.9 three-pointers, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.5 steals in 18.4 minutes off the bench.
For his part, Osman has the most promising career ahead of him among these three Turkish nationals. The 23-year-old had the starting small forward spot for the Cavs all to himself last season, and as a result, produced 13.0 points (on 42.7 percent shooting), 1.7 three-pointers, 4.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 0.8 steals in 32.2 minutes per contest.
As for Korkmaz, his future in the NBA is in limbo right now following two lackluster seasons with the Sixers. After recently being waived by Philadelphia, the 21-year-old is still hopeful that he will be able to secure a deal with another NBA team, but at the moment, it is looking like a return to the Euroleague is in the books for the 6-foot-7 guard.
Turkey are not exactly one of the strongest teams in the upcoming World Cup, but they should be able to give a good fight with these three in the mix.