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Basketball with an international spin

Turkish basketball coaches visiting UD are (from left) Umut Sahin, Hasan Firat Okul, Omer Ugurata, Erdem Can, Yakup Sekizkok, Timucin Gencer and Yalcin Kucukozan.

10:23 a.m., Oct. 7, 2004--In January, the University of Delaware welcomed Emir Turam, director of international relations for the Turkish Basketball Federation, in a special halftime ceremony at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center. On Wednesday, Sept. 29, seven basketball coaches from Turkey were welcomed at a special reception in the Bob Carpenter Center Club.

The visiting coaches include Omer Ugurata, Timucin Gencer, Yakup Sekizok, Erdam Can, Umut Sahin, Hasan Okul and Yalcyn Kucukozan, who is the Turkish administrator for the program while the group is in the United States.

During their four-week stay at UD, the coaches will participate in a variety of programs, including on-campus workshops with faculty and staff from health, nutrition and exercise sciences, as well as observations of the UD men’s and women’s basketball teams.

The group has met with Philadelphia 76ers assistant general manager Tony Dileo, and will attend a special workshop in Durham, N.C., where they will meet with coaching legends Dean Smith, former head basketball coach of the University of North Carolina, and Mike Kryzewski, current head coach of Duke University. Also speaking at the presentation will be current UNC head coach Roy Williams.

Turam’s reception at The Bob and the arrival of the Turkish basketball coaches are part of a program funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s International Sports Programming Initiative. Coauthors of the $251,000 grant are Matthew J. Robinson, assistant professor, and David Barlow, associate professor, both of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

“This is a great opportunity for UD to grow, and it is a great opportunity to help promote basketball in Turkey,” Robinson said. “The fact that this is a UD-wide effort that involves several academic departments makes this a meaningful program for all the participants.”

A key provision of the grant, cosponsored UD and the Turkish Basketball Federation, is the selection of two aspiring basketball coaches from Turkey who will earn master’s degree at UD while serving as graduate assistants within the UD basketball program.

Arriving this summer at UD from Turkey to begin their graduate experience were Cem Sencan and Tugba Karaguile. Before leaving for UD, the pair welcomed Robinson and sports management majors Lindsey Greer, Connie Martin and Mike Slattery during a two-week visit to Istanbul in June. Slattery is co-captain of the Fightin’ Blue Hens basketball team. Martin played women’s lacrosse for three years at UD before a career-ending injury, and Greer is co-captain of the women’s lacrosse team.

“The two grad students from Turkey were our unofficial tour guides while we were there,” Robinson said. “They are now at UD and have been making friends on campus.”

While in Turkey, the UD visitors attended several games during the finals of the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) championships that were eventually won by Turkish basketball club EFES Pilsen.

The trip was sponsored by an International Research Expedition Grant from UD’s Center for International Studies.

In Turkey, the group also was treated to a sampling of Turkish culture and hospitality while meeting with representatives from various Turkish sporting organizations, including the Turkish Olympic Committee and the Fenerbache Sports Club. Fenerbache sponsors teams in basketball, soccer and track and field.

“We spent a day there and met with the soccer and basketball teams,” Robinson said. “It was great for our undergrads because they gained incredible access to sporting events, while getting a good sampling of Turkish culture.”

Among the highlights of the trip was a dinner hosted by Nese Gundogan, secretary general of the Turkish Olympic Committee, and a visit with Nedim Karakas, head of competitions for the TBF.

“We learned that we all have a lot in common, and that the potential for developing long-lasting relationships is very good,” Robinson said.

Greer, a senior health behavior management major with a concentration in sports management, said she enjoyed the chance to meet with her Turkish counterparts and experience the local culture.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Greer said. “Turkey is a lot more modern than I thought it would be, and I found that both groups share a lot of the same interests.”

The potential for building career-enhancing skills through such cross-cultural exchanges is great, Greer said.

“Being able to learn from others and keep an open mind is very important,” Greer said. “So many people come from different backgrounds, and you can learn from this. UD and the Center for International Studies provides that experience for us, and it was gratifying to take advantage of such an opportunity.”

Robinson said that getting a chance to see how sports are played and managed around the world usually turns out to be a mind-enhancing experience for visitors and their hosts.

“While we were in Turkey, students from UD met with different people and conducted interviews,” Robinson said. “When we got back to UD, we took the time to talk about this experience.”

Because of their time abroad, Robinson said that he and his students have changed the way they look at how sports are played in other countries.

“Sports is a great way to build friendships and relationships,” Robinson said. “I think we all walked away from this experience with a better understanding of ourselves and others.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Kathy Atkinson

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