BallinEurope is previewing all 18 Euroleague Basketball teams over the next 18 days. Yesterday it was the turn of FC Barcelona. Today it’s Erdem Can and Anadolu Efes
The era of ‘Cool Efes’ may be over but the rebuild already looks interesting. What will Erdem Can and Anadolu Efes show us this coming season?
Last season
Euroleague record: 17-17
Regular season position: 11th
Playoffs: N/A
BSL record: 22-8
Regular season position: 3rd
Playoffs: Won finals 3-0 (Pinar Karsiyaka)
Who’s gone?
Ergin Ataman (Coach), Amath M’Baye (CSKA Moscow), Egehan Arna (Besiktas), Furkan Haitali (Pinar Karsiyaka), Omer Ilyasoglu (Mega Basket), Egemen Guven (Bahcesehir), Bugruhan Tuncer (Galatasaray), Vasilije Micic (OKC Thunder, NBA), Bryant Dunston (Virtus Bologna), Chris Singleton (Free agent), Dogus Balbay (Free agent).
Who is new?
Erdem Can (Coach), Justus Hollatz (Cedevita Olimpija), Burak Can Yildizi (Besiktas), Ercan Osmani (Darussafaka), Derek Willis (Reyer Venezia), Erkan Yilmaz (Turk Telecom), Tyrique Jones (Turk Telecom), Darius Thompson (Baskonia), Dogus Ozedemiroglu (Darussafaka).
Who stayed?
Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, Ertan Gazi, Elijah Bryant, Will Clyburn, Ante Zizic, Tibor Pleiss.
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Need to know
Erdem Can may be in his first season as a Euroleague Basketball coach but he already commands enormous respect. Last season he led Turk Telecom to the best record in the regular season in the BSL before exiting in the semi-finals. Added to this was runner-up finish in EuroCup.
He is however taking over a team in transition and that’s never an ideal situation for a maiden season. ‘Cool Efes’ as I alluded to at the start of this preview, was easily the most fun team to watch in Euroleague Basketball for 4 seasons. Now, Erdem Can must create a new identity for Anadolu Efes.
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What the bookies think
I find the price in the sportsbooks, 14/1 to win it all, very interesting. When it comes to basketball betting, that says to me that they have a chance to potentially go on a very deep run. It also says that while the potential is there, the oddsmakers aren’t all that confident of it happening.
What we think
The pieces are there to make for an enthralling team. It’s going to be a very different Anadolu Efes but I’m not sure how improved it will be from last season. The loss of Vasilije Micic is obvious but Dogus Balbay and Bryant Dunston were key pieces in the ‘Cool Efes’ era.
It might all come together but everything about this roster, to me, screams of needing a full season to bed in. If Erdem Can can get them to gel faster, watch out, but I’m betting against it.
Fearless prediction
Back to back shockers in as many days from our picks. There’s no questioning the talent on this side, both on the court and in the coaching staff. There are however questions over chemistry and the ability of Efes to keep its key men healthy as the years have not been ideal. I may well end up with egg on my face over this but I’m picking them to miss the playoffs.
Pick: 9th place in the regular season
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