The Besiktas talent has earned his coach’s trust and is paying him back with his performances
Kerem Konan: 'Coach Alimpijevic makes me feel free on the court'
Trademarks
10 Mins read
Kerem Konan knows he will make mistakes on the court, but he is also aware that there are ways to make up amends in order to retain his minutes. The 20-year-old appreciates the trust he has earned from Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul head coach Dusan Alimpijevic. And it has pushed him forward in his development.
Konan has averaged 2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists in just over 12 minutes per game for Besiktas in 18 EuroCup games, with the Turkish side making the BKT EuroCup Playoffs and setting up an eighthfinals matchup with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.
This is Konan’s second season in the EuroCup after he tallied 3.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 rebounds in 13 minutes per game last season. He had some of his best numbers in the three-game semifinal loss to Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse with 3.7 points and 5.3 rebounds.
“Playing in the EuroCup semifinals at the age of 19 was very exciting and enjoyable," he told David Hein. "We played basketball in incredible atmospheres. Bourg was a good team and playing [Game 3] in France was really not easy, it was a difficult away game. We lost the game. I was very upset but at the same time I had gained experience and I was happy for that.
“Yes, I wanted to win the cup, but it didn't happen, that's why I always look ahead. I focus on my future and I want to work harder to win things.”
Konan really took a major step forward last season. In the second half of the EuroCup Regular Season, he played at least 14 minutes in six of eight games, compared to none in the first half of the regular season. And he averaged 22 minutes in the semifinals.
The Denizli native recalled a message he received from Alimpijevic before the season.
“He said to me there are five big players and you are the last one to play. But you are training very well and if you continue like this you will start playing," Konan recalled. "I always worked hard and I got that time from him and he started to trust me. He always told me to be energetic and I was always trying to do whatever I could."
He had his best two games last season against Veolia Towers Hamburg, picking up 10 points in Round 6 and then scoring 14 points in Round 15.
All that was a matter of belief from the coach, Konan said.
“It is really important in basketball that the coach trusts you, and I think the coaches who make you feel this are very special. You feel free on the court and you are not afraid. And this is how you gain confidence.”
Konan has long been one of Türkiye’s top young talents. He has played for the country’s youth national teams starting in 2021 and he helped Türkiye take second place at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2022. The next summer Konan averaged 6.1 points at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023, where Türkiye beat United States in the game for third place. That was the first time that a Turkish national team – regardless of age – has ever beaten the United States.
Konan left Denizl for Bandirma in 2019 at age 16 for the famed youth program at Banvit.
“It was one of the best years of my life. I still miss it so much. I had so many memories and friends," Konan remembered. "There were so many talented players, but everyone was fighting each other and improving themselves."
After just one season, the club folded and Besiktas bought most of Banvit’s top talents, bringing in Konan, Alperen Sengun, Sehmus Hazer, Furkan Haltali, Sadik Emir and Eray Akyuz among others.
“I was very sad when Banvit closed. It was a really great place. Yes, I moved to Besiktas with many of my friends, but this was our experience. When we came here, of course, there was no atmosphere like Banvit, but it was not bad.”
Konan played for Besiktas’s U19 team in 2020-21 but had a front row seat in watching Sengun dominate for Besiktas’s pro team to the tune of 18.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks. That earned him the Turkish League MVP award and ended up helping him get drafted to the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
“He was incredibly impressive, but he was very talented and admired for what he did. At that age he was fighting on the court and he was very confident. This was very obvious and I saw these things in him,” Konan said.
“We don't talk much. Of course I watch and follow him. He still does incredible things. As a Turk, it's very nice that he is doing these things and it inspires me a lot.”
And now, thanks to the confidence from coach Dusan Alimpijevic, Konan is making inroads in inspiring other youngsters across the country.