Yurtseven among CBS top 25 players with something to prove

As you’ve read, Yurtseven will again be a step behind his teammates, albeit a much smaller step this year. He will forgo the team trip to Italy in order to play with the Turkey national team.

Though he is still getting to play quality basketball, he will be missing a good chunk of time where he could be meshing with his teammates. Though he could be integral to early success for Coach Keatts, he also comes in as the biggest question mark.

Last year, after dominating overseas, Yurt came in with alot of pa lot and high expectations as a 7’0 who could stroke it. After a 9 game suspension for “taking money” playing overseas, Yurtseven was never able to live up to the hype and had what most would consider a subpar season.

Fortunately for State, Yurtseven chose to stick around after testing the professional waters and a coaching change. Now that he is back, CBS ranks him as one of the top 25 players with something to prove. Here is what CBS had to say about Omer in the article.

He was a victim of over-hype last season. Yurtseven was a late qualifier, played in 22 games, and didn’t fit well into Mark Gottfried’s plans. This after he was projected as a 2017 NBA pick last October. Now he starts anew. Few players have as much to prove next season as Yurtseven, who is from Turkey.

Will Yurtseven be able to finally live up to the hype under Keatts after having a year and a full offseason to adjust to the tougher, more physical college game? I for one have always been a fan of his size and skill set and expect to see a much more polished and confident player than we saw last year. Lets hope I am right this time.

Update:

Monster game for @OmerYurtseven5 today at FIBA European U20 Champs. 24 points, 14 rebounds & 4 blocks to lead Turkey to a win over Latvia

— Craig Hammel (@Hammel_Craig) July 20, 2017