A transfer from North Carolina State and former draft entrant in 2017 before withdrawing, Omer Yurtseven carved out a successful year at Georgetown. In his lone season at Georgetown, Yurtseven averaged 15.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG, and 2.3 TOPG on shooting splits of 53/21/75. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Omer Yurtseven
Height/Weight: 7’0/260
Wingspan/ standing reach: 7’1/ 9’0.5
Hand size: 10.5
Position: C/PF
College/country: Georgetown/Turkey
Tools: Post skill, shooting, rebounding
Pros:
- Solid passer- plays with eyes up; can handle the ball some/ bring the ball up
- Excellent rebounder on both ends
- Good jumper shooter with room to extend his range
- Shows potential in P&R
- Not fast, but has decent speed for a PF/C
Cons:
- Not vertically gifted
- Not a rim protector
- Ball watches too much
- Averaged nearly double the turnovers to assists
Overall:
Yurtseven has always been an intriguing center prospect, dating back to when he was tagged as a top international prospect from Turkey in the FIBA tournaments. His combination of size, mobility, and shooting upside has always caught the attention of NBA scouts. In the NBA, Yurtseven is likely to be an offensive minded big man that can take advantage of mismatches. His best games in college came against teams that went small in favor of the 3 point line, where he often went to work quickly in the post. While the value of centers has gone down around the league, having a floor-spacing big with the ability to post up and create for others anywhere in the half-court remains essential for most teams.
Defensively, his combination of underwhelming length, ball-watching tendencies, and a lack of vertical burst & recovery ability limit his upside as a rim protector. Yurtseven rarely meets players at the rim, and most of his blocks come against layups and below the rim shots. However, Yurtseven is not a liability in the pick & roll, which is arguably the most important area for a big man in order to stay on the court in the modern NBA.
NBA Comparison: Floor: Drew Eubanks; Ceiling: poor man’s Nikola Vucevic
Projected draft range: 50-undrafted
Fit with Mavs:
Mavs fans have often vouched for a player with a skill-set similar to Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic, and even campaigned for the Mavs to sign him in the 2019 offseason. While Yurtseven is not the same level of talent or skill as the borderline all star center, he shares some key traits as a rebounding post scorer with the ability to stretch the defense. Yurtseven would likely play spot minutes, going against teams that go ultra-small, which is where Yurtseven was at his best in college. With Yurtseven’s neutral defensive impact on the perimeter in college, there should be hope for Dallas that he can hold his own defensively against smaller lineups.
Another area where Yurtseven would add value is in the two-man game that the Mavericks love to run, primarily involving Luka Doncic. Yurtseven thrives in the pick & roll, which would continue to further Luka Doncic’s historic offensive abilities.
