ANKARA (AA) – Türk Telekom, one of the Basketball Super League teams, recently appointed Erdem Can, who was the assistant coach of the Utah Jazz in the NBA, to the head coach.
Başkent representative held the introductory meeting of Erdem Can, the first Turkish coach to serve in the NBA, at Türk Telekom General Directorate Cultural Center.
Türk Telekom Sports Club President Yusuf Kıraç, vice president Savtekin Şentürk, general manager Önder Külçebaş were present at the meeting, and a 2-year contract was signed with Erdem Can.
President of the club, Yusuf Kıraç, stated that the goals of Türk Telekom and Erdem Can match, and said, “Next year, the Ankara audience will see a hard-fought team. We are a serious basketball capital of Europe. It is a city with a college tradition. Together with the team, we will be a team with high fighting power. May our signing ceremony be beneficial to everyone, especially Turkish basketball and Ankara basketball.” said.
Stressing that Ankara is a basketball city, Kıraç said, “It is very important to have basketball alongside the Türk Telekom brand. We have an intention to compete in the ULEB European Cup again next season. This will become clear in a short time. We will see a team hungry for success and a competitive team with a strong staff. “I invite all Ankara residents to watch this team. By the way, MKE Ankaragücü is one of the important brands of this city. I congratulate them for making it to the Super League.” made its assessment.
Erdem Can, the new head coach of the Başkent team, also expressed that he is happy to return to his home. We will form a team that will never accept losing.” used the expressions.
Stating that he is a head coach hungry for success, Can said, “This is definitely a challenge. I needed to make a challenge with my savings in the right organization. The perspective presented by our president and our club was parallel to my challenge. We chose to take on this challenge.” he said.
– Erdem Can’s career
Erdem Can, who has been the assistant of the head coach Zeljko Obradovic in Fenerbahçe for many years, became the first assistant coach to serve in the NBA last season.
Having achieved numerous successes, especially the THY Europa League championship, with the yellow-dark blue team, Can started his basketball career in the capital Ankara. Playing in Sümerbank and Mülkiyespor here, Can worked as an assistant coach at Türk Telekom and Olin Edirne after his basketball career ended. Erdem Can, who also took part in the technical team of the New Zealand National Team in the 2006 World Basketball Championship held in Japan, also undertook the task of head coach in Olin Edirne. Can, who assisted Igor Kokoskov in Fenerbahçe as well as Obradovic, joined the technical staff of the Utah Jazz in the NBA at the beginning of last season.
Returning from the NBA, Erdem Can will continue his career as the head coach of Türk Telekom.
