North Carolina State University Athletics
Atsur, Turkey Reach Quarters of World Championships
8/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Raleigh, N.C. - Senior Engin Atsür of the NC State men’s basketball team had a little unfinished business before he came back to Raleigh to start the fall semester. Atsür is part of Turkey’s surprising run at the 2006 FIBA World Championships currently being held in Japan. Turkey came into the tournament ranked No. 18 in the world, but thus far Turkey has played strong in posting a 5-1 record and has advanced to the quarterfinals. Turkey will next take on Argentina on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to the semifinals.
“We have great team chemistry. We don’t have big egos on this team, everybody shares the ball, our guys did a great job of handling their big guys, they have NBA talent and we got pushed around inside but we won the game by making the big shots,” Atsür said after Turkey’s most recent victory over Slovenia in the first elimination game on Saturday.
Atsür himself excelled in the Slovenia game, hitting two of the biggest shots of the tournament. That game, Atsür hit both of his three-point attempts in the final four minutes of action, as Turkey defeated Slovenia 90-84. Atsür’s first shot came right as the shot clock buzzer went off and tied the game at 74-74, his second came a minute later and cut into the Slovenia lead.
“He (Atsür) doesn’t have a big experience at the international level, but he’s got a big heart and you (saw) that on the court today,” said teammate Serkan Erdogan.
After not appearing in the first two games, Atsür has been a steady influence in the Turkey lineup. He has played in four games overall, averaging 7.0 points in and average of 18.5 minutes a contest. He has shot 57.9 percent (11-19) from the field, and has hit 5-of-10 three-point attempts. Atsür’s top game of the tournament came in a 76-69 win over Qatar, scoring a team-high 12 points in 24 minutes of action.
Turkey finished second in Group C of the pool play portion, with a record of 4-1. The only loss came to the top team in that group, a 76-69 defeat to Greece.
Atsür is the leading returning scorer (10.8 ppg) for a Wolfpack squad that finished 22-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago. He lead last years squad with 109 assists, and was second with his 67 made three-point field goals. Atsür is approaching 1,000 career points, as he enters his final season with 911.
“We have great team chemistry. We don’t have big egos on this team, everybody shares the ball, our guys did a great job of handling their big guys, they have NBA talent and we got pushed around inside but we won the game by making the big shots,” Atsür said after Turkey’s most recent victory over Slovenia in the first elimination game on Saturday.
Atsür himself excelled in the Slovenia game, hitting two of the biggest shots of the tournament. That game, Atsür hit both of his three-point attempts in the final four minutes of action, as Turkey defeated Slovenia 90-84. Atsür’s first shot came right as the shot clock buzzer went off and tied the game at 74-74, his second came a minute later and cut into the Slovenia lead.
“He (Atsür) doesn’t have a big experience at the international level, but he’s got a big heart and you (saw) that on the court today,” said teammate Serkan Erdogan.
After not appearing in the first two games, Atsür has been a steady influence in the Turkey lineup. He has played in four games overall, averaging 7.0 points in and average of 18.5 minutes a contest. He has shot 57.9 percent (11-19) from the field, and has hit 5-of-10 three-point attempts. Atsür’s top game of the tournament came in a 76-69 win over Qatar, scoring a team-high 12 points in 24 minutes of action.
Turkey finished second in Group C of the pool play portion, with a record of 4-1. The only loss came to the top team in that group, a 76-69 defeat to Greece.
Atsür is the leading returning scorer (10.8 ppg) for a Wolfpack squad that finished 22-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago. He lead last years squad with 109 assists, and was second with his 67 made three-point field goals. Atsür is approaching 1,000 career points, as he enters his final season with 911.
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