Conversation with Kemal Erdem about basketball

I asked 10 questions to Kemal Erdem, a basketball commentator and writer, who is well known by basketball lovers and Fenerbahçe fans.

We talked with Kemal Erdem about Fenerbahçe Beko’s situation, TBF, referees, foreign rule and European basketball.

Here is that conversation:

How do you evaluate Fenerbahçe Beko’s first year in this process, which went into a new restructuring with Dimitris Itoudis? Finishing the season in the EuroLeague Play-offs and the Turkish League semi-finals, is Fenerbahçe successful or unsuccessful:

“At the beginning of the season for many, the top 8 in the Euroleague and the championship in the BSL were considered ‘success’. When we came to the end, one of the targets had been achieved. Another was disappointing (with the influence of the referees). Regardless, Fenerbahce should have finished BSL as champion. Frankly, we have to say that it was a season far from expectations. But here, it is necessary not only to throw the ball to Itoudis, but also to hold responsible the branch management, which cannot manage the process well and is very passive on certain issues.”

‘WE SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON’

After the first match between Fenerbahçe and Anadolu Efes, in which the Yellow and Navy team won by 42 points, Ergin Ataman made 2 changes in his team’s rotation (included Pleiss and M’Baye instead of Zizic and Beaubois) and prevailed over Itoudis. Could Fenerbahçe have won this series if the referees had not come to the fore in the series in which the referee’s decisions were also effective? How accurate Itoudis’ rotation was:

“I have to say that Fenerbahçe could have won the 2nd and 4th games. There was a clear massacre of referees in the third match, TBF admitted it. We were also very critical. However, when looking in the mirror, the squad never deteriorated, the inability to find a solution to the weakness created by Calathes, the problems in his long rotation, and the injuries of Şehmus and Metecan determined the course of the series. At the beginning of the season, we always said that staff planning would cause problems in the long run. Fenerbahce has been having this problem for many years and never takes any lessons. Each season starts with 1-2 faults. The caravan doesn’t always get fucked on the road, you don’t.”

‘DORSEY IS VERY DIFFICULT’

Speaking of Itoudis’s choice of rotation, you mentioned that Itoudis had a problem with Carsen Edwards and Tyler Dorsey on the “Long Live Fenerbahce” channel. What is the root cause of this problem? How about Itoudis’s approach to these 2 key guards:

“Edwards wasn’t the player Itoudis brought in. Therefore, it is known that she has a prejudice against him. The Dorsey issue is pretty troubling. You can keep a player like Jekiri on the sidelines because of his foreign preference, he won’t give you any trouble. But Dorsey-style players want to play not only in the Euroleague, but also in the BSL. After all, BSL has a brand value, and if a player is not considered in the playoffs here, you will have problems. I think TBF should review the foreign border and clubs should be more insistent on this issue.”

‘COLD WAR PERIOD LIVES’

Again, on YouTube, you said that there were problems in the Fenerbahçe branch, that Itoudis and Gherardini were not on good terms, can you explain this a little more:

“Let me be clear, Itoudis was not the branch’s choice, but Ali Koç’s choice. It was known that Sertaç Bey wanted Pascual, Gherardini and Yannier wanted Trinchieri. There were a lot of problems between Itoudis and the branch during the season. With the end of the season, there are reports that there are tensions again. There are some key players that Itoudis wants to be sent to the current roster. The branch is not very close to this. Can these problems be overcome, but I don’t know how healthy this relationship will be. There is a cold war period in Fenerbahçe branch.”

‘HE MUST HAVE A GUARD’

There have been many news about Fenerbahçe’s transfers for the next season, and they continue to come out. Is there any other information from your sources on this subject? If you compare the transfer news with this season’s staff, what would you say:

“People have very high expectations. Frankly, I don’t think there will be a transfer that we would call the ‘big bomb’ for now. Of course, size is relative. You already have a certain core at hand. It will be reinforced. A move like Sertaç Şanlı would be a great move in my opinion, if we take into account that he is a local. It is said that there is an agreement with Onuralp Bitim, it would be the right move. But Fenerbahce has to buy a guard who will be a bit classic and has a shot instead of Calathes.”

‘HE ACTS WITH ITS INSTINCT PROTECTION’

After Fenerbahçe manager Sertaç Komsuoğlu’s last match with Efes, Ergin Ataman made a statement about the Efes supporter and the referee and was fined by the TBF. Has this helped the club:

“Sertaç Bey acts with the instinct of self-preservation rather than the interests of Fenerbahçe. After saying that Ataman is not our interlocutor, you do not talk to him for 10 minutes. Fenerbahçe’s interests are not protected in front of the TV at the end of the match. Of course, you will go out and make 1-2 explanations, but you will find a solution beforehand. Fenerbahce’s lobby is weak, the current administration has no enforcement and influence. If Aziz Yıldırım had been under the management, nothing that happened throughout the series would have happened so publicly and no one could have stolen that 3rd match from Fenerbahce in plain sight. This is management, not what Sertaç Bey does.”

‘THEY SHOULD PUT THEIR HATS FRONT’

In the Fenerbahçe-Efes series, the inadequacy and other problems of the TBF referees came to light once again. This problem has been discussed for a long time and continues. What kind of attitude should TBF take regarding the referee:

“The most important problem in TBF is merit. It is not clear who is in what position, with what qualifications and qualifications. There is a serious co-friend structure in basketball. Nothing healthy comes out of here. You cannot come up with a solution. For example, there is the U18 National Team, where coaches who insult Fenerbahçe openly take charge and players are selected. The disorder of the structure starts from the bottom, you think of the top. Had Harun Erdenay or Erman Kunter been elected, there would have been a more transparent federation based on merit. After all, it is these clubs that say to continue the current management of TBF. They should put their hats in front of them.”

‘A SITUATION AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS’

Many basketball writers, viewers and clubs, including you, are reacting to the foreign rule in the Turkish Basketball League. There are rumors that this rule will increase from 5 to 6 next year. Do you see it possible to completely remove this rule? If it changes, how will Turkish basketball develop:

“I think the foreign border is a violation of human rights. The economic conditions of the country are clear. It is difficult for many clubs to handle this burden. When you limit foreigners, the prices in the domestic market skyrocket. Think about it, you give a player that you would normally take for 1, not 2, not 3, but 5 now. We want the foreign border to be lifted, but some managers do not. Especially a management company that holds the domestic market does not approach this at all. At this point, the question of merit arises again. However, if you give the job to the competent person and do not interfere, these decisions are made in a very realistic way.”

‘THEY WHO HAS THE POWER TAKE TIME’

There has been a serious talent shortage in European basketball in recent years. Is this a problem caused by ULEB management or management companies? Would the EuroLeague’s idea of ​​opening up to Arab countries solve this problem:

“This is actually a very long topic that should be discussed under another heading. The skill level is going down, there are many things that play a part in that. Let me give an example from what I know. If I wrote about the torpedoes in the infrastructures of Turkey, the young people who beat their rights, and how the undeserving ones rose with the PR work done by certain focus groups, you would be speechless and you would say that nothing will come of this system anyway. In our country, not the talented but the power behind it takes time, this is our situation in infrastructures.”

‘HIGH RISK TO BE UNDER THAT LOAD’

Finally, what would you like to say about the collaboration of Erdem Can and Efes:

“This adventure is too early for Erdem Can. It is a big risk for him to take on that burden after your appointment. To be honest, I think this union will fall short of expectations and we may part ways early. Ergin Ataman is antipathetic to a certain group of people, I understand that. But in the end, it’s clear that they’ve won here. Erdem Can will take over a two-time EuroLeague champion team, it’s not easy. The pressure and treatment of the coaches who came after Obradovic in Fenerbahçe is obvious. Buying a successful team is sometimes riskier than getting a failed team.”