If anybody worked his way into consideration last summer, it was
Dogus Balbay. The Turkish point guard was probably the best player in the winning team, and even if he's struggling trying to find some consistency in his game here at the junior stage, he certainly shows some very intriguing skills.
Balbay likely enjoys the most amazing legs in the tournament. He's athletic, reactive, electric we could say, but also very aggressive, making up for his limited size (he's listed at 6-0, although he could actually be an inch taller). Extremely quick and a very good ball-handler, he's a terrific slasher who breaks defenses down in restless fashion, being capable of finishing himself thanks to his excellent vertical leap as well as being a pretty good distributor for other teammates. However, he hasn't always taken good decisions, particularly in the blowout loss against Spain. Still not a reliable shooter, he's struggling behind the arc, and in general delivering a rather poor scoring effort.
On defense, he's the most active guy for Turkey, usually taking care of the best perimeter rival. Impressive lateral mobility, really quick hands, superb activity, he's all over the court, even chasing rebounds. He's a pretty significant thermometer for his team, and he will likely need to give his best in order to get the championship.
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