How will look the new Besiktas?
The upcoming season, Besiktas will play in the FIBA Europe Cup for the first time in the last years. Since the beginning of the Basketball Champions League, they were between the constant presences of the European competition. Now they stepped down a level, accepting to play in FIBA Europe Cup because of the lack of money, a problem that appeared already during the last season when some good foreigners have left the Turkish club.
Besiktas is going to rebuild the team and till now they have signed a bunch of young homegrown players with ages between 17 and 22 years old. These kids have big potential and they can grow fast with the club because they will see many minutes on the court in the near future. The experienced Turkish players of Besiktas, like Oguz Savas, Birkan Batuk and so on have left the club trying to find a better-paid place. As a consequence, we will see a totally different roster compared with the last season. A brand new one, completed with younger guys and with some American rookies, that are at their first experience in Europe.
Currently, Besiktas has signed Isaiah Blackmon, De’Jon Davies, Markell Johnson and only time will show their value in the European basketball. But it seems very visible that the team is built to reach average results. It is the solution that many clubs are putting in practice when they’re lacking money. They try to survive decently, lowering a bit their standards and looking forward to a brighter future. I expect Besiktas to be an easy opponent in FIBA Europe Cup and by far, with no chance for the semifinals in Turkey. I could say with no chance for the Turkish playoffs too, but it depends also on the financial problems of other clubs involved in the domestic league.
Image: Basketball Champions League
Gratian Cormos
