Turkey NT 2020

  • I am not the biggest fan of Kubra but let’s be honest, she is the one of the best choices if your coach is Guidetti and she is in shape. I believe Eda, Zehra and Kubra are the best choices at this point.

    I completely agree with you, although I'm a fan of Kübra😅

    When she is healthy she is just the best choice at the middle blocker position after Zehra and Eda. She is a good hitter both in front of the setter as the slide attack. Next to that she is a decent blocker.

  • I also think it will be eda-zehra-kubra


    Aslı might have a chance but she is not a slide attacker so in the case of injury, 3rd MB should be someone versatile that can replace both Eda and Zehra.


    I don't think Beyza has a chance to be 3rd MB, losing a few pounds won't make her thaisa

  • Couldn't disagree more. I indeed Turkey would give it a try to naturalize either Haak or Carutasu. As you said, we need a dominant Opp and the way Ebrar performs so far doesn't give good signals about her development. Haak is clearly one of the top 3 best opp in the world and it is a pity that her NT is very weak. I think with Haak Turkey could fight for medal in Paris OG. So it would be beneficial for both Haak and Turkey NT. On the other hand, Carutasu has a huge potential. As a person who is watching almost every match of Yeşilyurt for last two years, I can tell that she definitely has world-class potential. What she has shown at such a young age is something we should give credit for. Indeed I am more in favor of naturalizing her than naturalizing Haak. Because Carutasu was raised in Vakıfbank-Yeşilyurt at a very young age so she can be counted as Turkish star raised in Turkey whereas Haak was already a start when she came to Vakıfbank although she is also drastically improving in last 2 seasons. Both of these players can have a huge impact on Turkish NT's success. Just like when TVF naturalize Natalia Hanikoğlu. She contributed so much to Turkish volleyball. Unfortunately she was 'old' when she was naturalized, so she couldn't play with NT for so long. That's why it makes sense to naturalize young and promising players like Haak and Carutasu instead of established experienced players.


    Winning an Olympic of WCh medal with help of one of these two would benefit turkish volleyball so much that nobody will care about the childish patriotic arguments.

  • As I mentıoned before in another thread, unfortunately Turkey doesn't have any upcoming Opp in younger age groups except Ebrar. There are several reasons for the lack of Opp in Turkey. To explain it better, I will make an overview of Opps that have played at youth/junior NTs in European and World championships and what their current situation is:


    1986-87: Seda Tokatlıoğlu: She has quit volleyball last year due to her injuries. She made a comeback this season.However, she is a ghost of her previous self. It is a pity that she made such a bad comeback, I would prefer to remember her as in her good old days


    1988-89: Meryem Boz: she is having a decent season so far in spite of the chaotic club she is playing. She did her fair share of contribution on the road to OG but after Tokyo she will definitely leave NT.


    1990-91: Polen Unver - Gözde Yılmaz: Both were quite promising 5 years ago but both of them preferred to sit at the bench of big clubs instead of playing in mid-level teams, unlike Meryem. Polen is having a fairly OK season although she is not playing full-time. Gözde Yılmaz is just a bench player playing very rarely and only against weak teams


    !992-93: Ceren Kestirengöz – Cemre Erol: Ceren was phenomenal at youth and junior level. She was even better than Van Hecke at that time. She unfortunately had some severe injuries. And then she preferred to sit on the bench of big clubs, she tried to switch her position to OH but it didn’t turn out a good idea. So far she rarely gets playing times in FB and whenever she plays she doesn’t show anything special. She had such a big potential! It is a pity to see her fading away. If she would transfer to mid level clubs in next couple of years and play as starter regularly just ike Meryem did, she might indeed have a shot to Paris 2024. Otherwise she will be another waste of potential.


    1994-95: Ceyda Aktaş - Ece Hocaoğlu – Nursevil Aydınlar: Nursevil was playing as back-up Opp although she is originally a setter. She is back to playing setter although some of the club matches she still played as Opp in GS. However she is out of picture. Both Ceyda and Ece had very bad performance as Opp in different mid level clubs. And then both of them switched their position to OH. However this didn’t go well neither. Ceyda is at least playing as a starter in PTT but Ece is bench player after her short adventure in a Greek club in the beginning of season.


    1996-97: Pelin Aroğuz – Buse Ene - Nazlı Alkan – Yağmur Mislina Kılıç – Rida Erlalelitepe: Pelin was such a phenomenal player. She was in the dream team of this generation during both youth and junior ECh. However she went to USA for her education and after graduating she quit volleyball. She is doing her masters in Germany nowadays. Her back up Buse Ene also went to USA and quit volleyball after graduation. Nazlı Alkan didn’t improve at senior level and currently playing in second division. Both Mislina and Rida are originally OHs, but they played as Opp in a few tournaments after Pelin just because we didn’t have anyone else. Both of them turned out to be disappointing players, mediocre attackers with very bad reception skills. Thus no hope from this generation.


    1998-99: Tutku Burcu Yüzgenç - Çağla Erdem – Yasemin Özel: Burcu had a few good tournaments with youth NT however at club level she has been playing very very bad. Probably due to several bad injuries she had. Her backup players Yasemin Özel is playing in Ilbank as bench player and Cağla Erdem is playing in Sarıyer as starter. Çağla had a few nice games this season. However I don’t see anything special. She had a season ending injury last year so that might have influenced her development


    2000-01: Ebrar Karakurt – Zeynep Uzen – Ilkin Aydın – Derya Cebecioğlu: Ebrar is the biggest candidate as starter Opp for next Olympic cycle, however her development seems to be quite shaky. She has a long way to go to be a stable Opp. Let’s hope she will calm down her irritating attitude and focus more on her technical development. Zeynep Uzen was Ebrar’s backup but she went to USA for her studies and I don’t expect anything special from her since she was quite a short player anyways. Both Ilkin and Derya played as Opp in a few tournaments but both are playing as OHs nowadays.


    2002-03: Ipar Kurt – Sude Hacımustafaoğlu (Aleyna Göçmen - Pelin Eroktay – Beren Yeşilırmak from younger generation played as main Opp) Both Sude and Ipar played as starting Opp in different tournaments with good performances. However both players are indeed OHs and I don’t see them converting back to Opp in the long run. Their back up players were from younger generation: Aleyna played as Opp during World Championship but she switched back to OH position.


    2004-05: Beren Yeşilırmak – Pelin Eroktay: I don’t see much talent at Pelin, she is just tall without much athleticism. For some reason she played as starter Opp for whole tournament and was elected to Allstar team of the tournament. However I find Beren way more talented. She has been playing in GS’s senior team since she was 14 years old. She could develop into a more Neslihan-ike player thanks to her nice technique. I really hope she would be loaned to another club and play as starter next season. I am rooting for her to be back-up of Ebrar for Paris 2024


    All in all, major reasons for lacking Opps are:

    1. Players who quit volleyball
    2. Players who didn’t develop as expected due to wrong club choices
    3. Players who converted to OH position

    I think Ebrar and Beren will be the Opp duo for next Olympic cycle. If Ceren would follow the same path with Meryem and would play in mid-level teams as a starter Opp next couple of years, it is not too late for her to have an Olympic chance.

  • I definitely understand those who chose to study in good universities in the USA, and then quit volleyball after graduation. However, Fatma Yildirim is an exception right? Salute to her also for continuing her passion for volleyball after graduating from NCAA.

  • I definitely understand those who chose to study in good universities in the USA, and then quit volleyball after graduation. However, Fatma Yildirim is an exception right? Salute to her also for continuing her passion for volleyball after graduating from NCAA.

    Duygu Düzceler also came back to volleyball after NCAA. Didem Ege played a few seasons after college but then she quit volleyball and started work as an agent

  • changing Hande's position back to Opp would be craziest idea ever, especially after finally she learned how to receive. Do you realize how rare it is to find an offensive OH who can also receive at a decent level? This is gold!!! I can come up 20-30 strong opp in the world but I can't think about more than 2-3 players who made a successful transition from Opp to OH


    I'd rather put Derya at Opp position than Hande.


    By the way I also expect Ipar to go to NCAA


    I skipped Yağmur because she never played for NT, but maybe she will be late bloomer. However now ilbank signed with mambru, I doubt that she will get any playing time

  • I definitely understand those who chose to study in good universities in the USA, and then quit volleyball after graduation. However, Fatma Yildirim is an exception right? Salute to her also for continuing her passion for volleyball after graduating from NCAA.

    Duygu Duzceler graduated from Florida State and Merve Tanyel from University of San Diego. If you mean among NT players, yes, Fatma is the only one.


    When she played for Bursa after graduation, she performed well and Gio wanted her in Vakifbank but she refused because she said she wanted to play. Yet she went to Fener and now Eczacibasi. I kind of feel like she is preparing for retirement and trying to spare some money as much as she can.

  • If Hande played as opposite now, she would be as good as Lippmann&Fabris...better than Ebrar&Meryem

    Yes, it woud be crazy because she's more valuable as OH for "now"...

    When Derya, Yaprak&Melisa catch up with her, I say why not?

    I think Guidetti will never be content with Ebrar, because she'll never be consistent enough...

    So, it's comforting we have that option...

  • Saliha is a very good attacker but her reception is a mess. But she can't play as Opp either because she attacks better from zone 4 rather than 2.

    Honestly i want to watch her play a full season. For me she is just another bench player for now. She should go to another team where she can play. Then I would consider her NT material. I like her but I want to see how she play full season. I know she played in Karayolları but that was two seasons

  • I disagree on ceren better than van hecke

    Van hecke was awarded at u18 tournament leading best scoring

    Also she was champion at youth olympics and also was european champion and good in junior world champs


    I never saw ceren playing at that level

  • Honestly i want to watch her play a full season. For me she is just another bench player for now. She should go to another team where she can play. Then I would consider her NT material. I like her but I want to see how she play full season. I know she played in Karayolları but that was two seasons

    I believe Saliha can be a good player but she definitely needs court time. Playing against Beylikduzu won’t add her much. I wish she was loaned to Yesilyurt.

  • If Hande played as opposite now, she would be as good as Lippmann&Fabris...better than Ebrar&Meryem

    Yes, it woud be crazy because she's more valuable as OH for "now"...

    When Derya, Yaprak&Melisa catch up with her, I say why not?

    I think Guidetti will never be content with Ebrar, because she'll never be consistent enough...

    So, it's comforting we have that option...

    I have serious question marks about Derya's reception and Yaprak's attack. Especiall Yaprak, with such a short height she can't play as starter in even Ilbank. Because she doesn't have a solid reception to compensate her lack of offense.

    Melisa is too young to count on. She definitely has potential but she is already struggling a lot with her reception and youth level, She has to improve a lot to play at senior NT in near future.


    Both Tuğba and Saliha are more balanced OHs that's why I count on them more than OHs from 2000 generation (except Ilkin)

  • I disagree on ceren better than van hecke

    Van hecke was awarded at u18 tournament leading best scoring

    Also she was champion at youth olympics and also was european champion and good in junior world champs


    I never saw ceren playing at that level

    Van Hecke get more credit because her teammates were mediocre and she was the best player of the team. Ceren was definitely better when you watch the matches they played against each other

  • Van Hecke get more credit because her teammates were mediocre and she was the best player of the team. Ceren was definitely better when you watch the matches they played against each other

    I saw her cause my team played against her and we almost won in u-18

    And I didn't see her as good as van hecke imo

  • 2004-05: Beren Yeşilırmak – Pelin Eroktay: I don’t see much talent at Pelin, she is just tall without much athleticism. For some reason she played as starter Opp for whole tournament and was elected to Allstar team of the tournament. However I find Beren way more talented. She has been playing in GS’s senior team since she was 14 years old. She could develop into a more Neslihan-ike player thanks to her nice technique. I really hope she would be loaned to another club and play as starter next season. I am rooting for her to be back-up of Ebrar for Paris 2024


    I think Ebrar and Beren will be the Opp duo for next Olympic cycle. If Ceren would follow the same path with Meryem and would play in mid-level teams as a starter Opp next couple of years, it is not too late for her to have an Olympic chance.

    Beren is so short... she is 1.77 and that is gonna be her main trouble when she faces top teams. Besides, she is not even the main opposite of U18 NT.