The Book On: Mehmet Okur

[RonnieBrewer (Ronnie Brewer)]

The Book On: Mehmet Okur

Updated 11/14/2006 1:49 AM ET
By David DuPree, USA TODAY

A look at how NBA stars play the game:

The particulars:  Six-foot-11, 249-pound Mehmet Okur, born in Yalova, Turkey,
is in the third year of a six-year, $50 million free-agent contract which
pays him $8.25 million this season. (He has a player option for the 2009-10
season). Okur, 27, played five seasons in the Turkish League before coming to
the NBA. he led his teams to Turkish National Cup titles in each of his final
four seasons. Okur was a soccer goalie and didn't start playing basketball
until he was 15. He is married to a former Miss Turkey Yeliz Caliska. His
nickname is Memo.

Road to the Jazz:  Okur was originally a second-round draft choice by Detroit
in 2001. After two seasons with the Pistons, he signed with the Jazz as a
free agent in 2004.

Style:  Okur is primarily a jump shooter and spreads the defense with his
three-point shooting. His strong suit isn't defense, but he is a reliable
rebounder and has decent moves inside.

Go-to move:  The pick-and-pop. Okur goes out high and sets a pick, but
instead of rolling to the basket, he slides to an open area for a jump shot.

How to defend him:  Crowd Okur and make him put the ball on the floor; don't
leave him open on the perimeter to double team another player inside; keep a
hand in his face.

By the numbers:  Okur is averaging 16.1 points and shooting 41.7% (10-for-24)
from the three-point line while making a career-high 1.4 three-pointers a
game. He is also averaging a career-high 9.1 rebounds. He averaged 18 points
a game last season and was the only center in the league to lead his team in
scoring. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.7 minutes in the
2003-04 playoffs to help the Pistons win the NBA championship. He is a major
reason why the Jazz are off to an NBA-best 6-1 start. Tuesday night, they'll
host the Los Angeles Clippers, who are tied with the San Antonio Spurs for
the second-best record at 5-1.

His peers:  He's one of three players from Turkey in the NBA. The others are
Hedo Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic and Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Gilbert Arenas, Trenton Hassell and Earl Watson were fellow second-round
picks in the 2001 draft, and Tony Parker was the last player taken in the
first round. Kwame Brown was the top overall pick.

Former player he is most easily compared to: Sam Perkins. Okur has the same
type of finesse game as Perkins had, and his effectiveness at center is built
around his jump-shooting.

Okur says:  "I'm finally getting used to the (new) ball. I worked out with
the old balls all summer, and I came in and said, 'What is this?' It took
awhile to get used to it."

TEAM REPORT: Utah Jazz
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/jazz/notes.htm



http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/
jazz/2006-11-14-the-book-on-okur_x.htm

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