TUR – College education important for Turkey’s Balbay

AUSTIN (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Dogus Balbay has called his time with Turkey’s national teams “the best experience” of his life.

The promising point guard, a 21-year-old college player with the Texas Longhorns, has excelled for the under-16, under-18 and under-20 Turkey national teams and one day hopes to suit up and play for Bogdan Tanjevic’s senior side.

He will have to overcome the second serious knee injury of his young career, however, before that happens after getting hurt in a game against Texas Tech over the weekend.

Texas athletic trainer Eric Fry has issued a statement that said: “MRI results showed that Dogus Balbay tore the ACL in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the season.”

Balbay injured his knee as a freshman but battled back to become an integral part of the Longhorns.

A junior this season, he played in all 27 games and made 22 starts at point guard for nationally ranked Texas.

While basketball is a very important part of Balbay’s life and will continue to be once he recovers from his latest injury, his decision to get a college degree in America looks smarter now than ever.

Before his latest setback, he had spoken about the decision to go to the United States in an interview for FIBA.com.

Here is part of that interview.

FIBA: Dogus, why did you decide to play college basketball instead of launching your professional career in Turkey?

Dogus Balbay: I knew that it was going to be really hard playing basketball and going to school at the same time in Turkey, so I decided to come to the States because I wanted to get my degree and play basketball at the same time. I didn't really care about playing for a professional team because your degree is really important. You're going to be done with basketball when you get to be 35 or 40. That was the main point, to go to school, get my degree, and play basketball at the same time.

FIBA: What are you majoring in and what career would you like to have after you play professional basketball?

Dogus Balbay: I'm majoring in Middle Eastern studies. One of the reasons I picked this is because it's familiar to me. I have some background about Middle Eastern studies. I wanted to learn more about the Middle Eastern countries around Turkey. It includes Turkey, too. I think it's really interesting. I'm learning a lot about Turkey's neighbors. I don't know what I'm going to do after my basketball career, but I'm sure after getting my degree in Middle Eastern studies, it's going to open a lot of doors for me.

FIBA: There are so many places where you could have gone to college. Why Texas? What kind of coach is Rick Barnes?

Dogus Balbay: Texas being one of the best is one of the reasons I came here. This was the only school I officially visited. I really liked it as soon as I walked on the campus and saw the facilities. I said, ‘Yeah, this is the school I like. I want to come to Texas.' I can really tell this is one of the best schools academically and athletically in the United States. Working with Coach Barnes, he is one of the best college coaches. He is a great person. He's always thinking about his players. He wants his players to get better every day. This is a great opportunity for me to work with him every day. He's not just talking about basketball, he talks about life too, from his experience. He's a great person and a great coach.

FIBA: Was it difficult to adjust to the game in America when you arrived from Turkey several years ago?

Dogus Balbay: It was kind of hard because I realized that in the States, basketball is more about individual play. You've got to be really talented, strong and athletic in order to do some special things. In Europe, you don't really have to have those talents. I would say American basketball is more individual and Europe is slower paced.

FIBA: How did the experience with Turkey's youth national teams help you develop as a player and also, what did it mean for you to compete for your country?

Dogus Balbay: Playing for the national team helped me a lot. It was the best experience I've had in my life. I played for the under-16, under-18 and under-20 teams. We did a really good job in the competitions. We won the European Championship in the under-16 group. We got fourth place a couple times and we got third place another time. I had a great time playing for the national team. It really helped me a lot to get to the United States. Playing for my country is the biggest honor to me. Representing my country in competition was great. You had the flag on your chest. You're just playing like it's your last game. That's how you fight for your country.

FIBA: Which country do you like to play against most in international competition and why?

Dogus Balbay: I guess I could say Spain because basketball is at a really high level in Spain. Their basketball IQs are really high. They have some talented players at each age group. Every time I played against Spain, I was really having fun out there.

FIBA: What does it mean for Turkey to host the FIBA World Championship? Do you think Turkey will win a medal and possibly gold?

Dogus Balbay: It's a great opportunity for Turkey. We're going to have a lot of tourists come watch the games. They'll also see the cities and the country and learn about our culture. I think it's going to be great for our country. It's going to help us economically and with everything. It's going to be our goal to try to get a medal in this World Championship. We can definitely do it if we really get prepared and work hard. We have great players. That's going to be our goal.

Jeff Taylor
FIBA