Ismet Akpinar ('95) was invited by Alba Berlin to participate in the last NIJT tournament in Belgrade. 6'3'' guard ended the event with 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in less than 30 minutes. He is one of the german hopes in 1995 generation together with David Taylor. Eurohopes contacted him to know his sensations in the tournament and also in his teams, competing at german ProB with Rist Wedel and in NBBL with Piraten Hamburg.

 

-What are your thoughts about your tournament in Belgrade with Alba?
This tournament was great. During this couple of games you had the chance to see how the best players of Europe play and you could mess yourself with them to see what things you need to improve.

 

-How has been your season in ProB?
We lost in the first playoff round against Nördlingen (1-2). But the season was great. It was my first ProB year and I played around 20 minutes. I had a couple of good games but I'm heading for next season to improve my game and stats all over. I am ready to work hard this summer and rock the upcoming season.

 

-Your goals this season?
Our goal with the ProB was to reach the playoffs. We have reached it but I was still not satisfied because we really could have won the second and even the third game too. And with my youth team at NBBL (Piraten Hamburg) we are in the playoffs and we have a game on Sunday. Our goal was to reach the playoffs too. My personal goal in the NBBL is to become the rookie of the year. Will see how things are going.

 

-Is the USA an option for you?
USA is of course an option for me next year. I will finish my school and be ready for college. I already have some offers from a couple of college teams, but I want to underline that. I prefer to play in Europe and become as fast as possible a proffesional player.

 

 

Photo: FIBA Europe / Vaclav Mudra