Ergin Ataman slams Wilbekin for his absence, hints at Panathinaikos' next move / News - Basketnews.com

Ergin Ataman explained how neither Shane Larkin nor Scottie Wilbekin joined Turkey NT for the Olympic Pre-Qualifying tournament, confirmed that Panathinaikos are still on the market, and made a prediction about Turkish fans' stance towards him.

Credit: Nikola Krstic/MB Media/Getty Images Credit Nikola Krstic/MB Media/Getty Images

As the 2024 Paris Olympic Pre-Qualification Tournament is approaching, the Turkish National Team continues its preparation at full speed. After beating Poland 87-84 on Tuesday night, the squad coached by Ergin Ataman hosted the same opponent behind closed doors at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall one day later.

Scottie Wilbekin

Position:PG, SGAge:30Height:188 cmWeight:80 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

The result was the same, however, the second time, Turkey hammered Poland 98-73, racking up their third win in four prep games and counting only one loss to Italy so far.

Turkey will play Iceland on Saturday, August 12, in their first match for the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualification tournament, while Poland will face Hungary for the same tourney.

In this regard, the Turkish Basketball Federation informed that Berke Buyuktuncel and Furkan Haltali were excluded from the squad due to their injuries. Doguş Ozdemiroglu, whose left knee anterior cruciate ligament was torn in the game vs. Italy, will be unable to help the team.

Hosted by Tivibu Spor, Ergin Ataman touched on many issues. The Turkish specialist pointed out that his team hasn't had success since the 2010 World Cup and remembered the way last year's EuroBasket Round of 16 game against France turned out.

"If we had not lost to France, maybe we would have won a medal, Spain, which we lost at the last second in the group, became the champion. France, which we lost miraculously, reached the final. When Spain and France met in the final, we were very upset about it," Ataman admitted.

Ataman called the current generation of players "very good," but added that he's unable to use all those players at the same time.

"Especially our players who play in the NBA sometimes prefer to rest instead of being in the national team -- they say that they are tired," the veteran coach said.

"We have nothing to do about it, it's only a matter of conscience and morality. We follow them throughout the season, we take care of them in the best way when they come to the national team."

Ataman went on to name some of the players, like Omer Yurtseven who has re-joined Turkey after skipping the EuroBasket, and Cedi Osman, who had declared himself unavailable for the qualifiers. He also broke down the importance of having a naturalized player ready to contribute.

Credit REUTERS/Sergio Perez - Scanpix

"Spain won the EuroBasket last year with Lorenzo Brown. Our most important rival in the Olympic Qualifications, Croatia, uses Jaleen Smith in the playmaker position," he said.

On the other hand, Ataman won't be able to use Shane Larkin or Scottie Wilbekin in the upcoming tournament. The guard of Anadolu Efes attended training camp, but after the health checks, a serious bone edema was detected in his knee, which led to him receiving intensive treatment for two weeks. Another MRI was taken Tuesday, but the player isn't ready yet.

Furthermore, Ataman revealed that Scottie Wilbekin refused to join the national team, "despite all the calls we made to him and his club," as Ataman said.

"There's nothing we can do, we can't force anyone and tell them 'Come, play for the national team'. Five weeks ago, we announced the preliminary roster and informed all clubs about that. We also tried to reach the players, but if the player does not pick up the phone, there's nothing you can do. In this case, you notify their club and you wait."

The new head coach of Panathinaikos Athens said some players, like Yurtseven and Furkan Korkmaz, asked for a week off this summer.

"We granted the request, as we do with all players at that point. Alperen Şengun joined towards the end of our Italian camp. Unfortunately, Cedi Osman stated that he will not be in the national team this summer and that he wanted to rest, but we couldn't reach Wilbekin."

The guard of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul wasn't convinced to join the squad, Ataman noted.

"Of course, clubs also want their players to play in the national team. Wilbekin's presence in Larkin's absence would have made us stronger. I don't think there are any gray areas, Wilbekin let us down," Ataman clarified his position.

However, the 57-year-old coach was also asked about his new job at PAO and the signing(s) owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos is expected to make.

"He loves transfers," Ataman commented. "He understands basketball very well, the Giannakopoulos family is very important for the history of Panathinaikos," he continued.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

"Our president, Dimitris, is the last representative of that family, and we talk to him constantly. Maybe we can make another big signing, and we'll see if it will happen in the next ten days," Ataman hinted.

He then asked basketball fans in Turkey to let Panathinaikos be their second team.

"I think that basketball fans in Turkey will follow Panathinaikos with excitement. Some of our friends will support our opponents so that Ergin Ataman won't be successful. But I believe that the majority will support me," the two-time EuroLeague tactician concluded.

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