Ege Demir

Physically very gifted player, strong and with broad shoulders and no one could really match his physicality when he decided to go for a finish. He had a good chemistry with the guards and there were some nice alley oop actions out of pick & rolls where Demir was able to show his athleticism and vertical spacing abilities. Had some post ups but relied more on strength than skills. Defended well in the paint but was exploited in space due to his slow and heavy feet. Even though he made a three point shot in the match on Sunday, he does not offer any stretching and that shot was more for good team chemistry and having fun than something that could be repeated again.

Birthday: 15th August 2004

Position: Center

Stats: BSL (12 games): 2.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 0.4 steals, 0.7 turnovers, 1.0/1.7 FG (60.0 %), 0.7/0.7 FT (100.0%)

TBL (11 games): 10.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 2.5 blocks, 0.5 steals, 2.9 turnovers, 4.6/7.7 FG (60.0 %), 1.3/2.1 FT (60.9%)

As the 2023 NBA Draft is rapidly approaching, a multitude of international prospects chose to take advantage of the opportunity to join the early entrant list in order to gauge the interest of NBA franchises ahead of deciding whether to “stay in ” or withdraw. One of those prospects is Turkish /Nigerian big man Ege Demir (2004). After physically dominating the youth scene for multiple years and standout performances at the 2021 ANGT in Istanbul in 2022 ANGT in Belgrade, where he was elected to the All-Tournament Team, Demir was on the radar of high major college basketball programs and ultimately verbally committed to the UCLA Bruins. However, Demir was unable to join his countrymen Adem Bona in Los Angeles and therefore had to settle on a return to Bursa, where he accepted the challenge and subsequently had his most productive campaign of his young career, splitting time between Tofas Bursa and its affiliate team Akran Gemlik. Not only did he carve out a rotational role in one of the strongest domestic leagues in Europe, he was also regularly entrusted to stay on the floor in pivotal moments – a highly valuable opportunity for growth for a young big man like him. Especially his performances against the Turkish powerhouses and Euroleague teams Anadolu Efes (16:48 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block) and Fenerbahçe (19:32 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and a win) should have opened some eyes, as it was evident that Demir is already physically on-par with the top-tier competition of Europe and did not seem to be fazed by the household names with whom he shared the floor.

Strengths:

• Able to secure rebounds out of his area, moves early and catches the ball close to its apex, tough to keep off the opposing glass
• Remarkable level of overall strength, enables him to take bumps from physical bigs and stay balanced
• Willing to seek and respond to contact on both ends
• Can establish favorable position around the low post thanks to his lower body strength
• Impressive leaper off two feet: quick load up and second jump, does not need to develop a lot of force with his legs, helps him to perform long closeouts and contest effectively as shot blocker
• Has the physical prerequisites to successfully execute aggressive pick and roll coverages and lateral agility to stay in front opposing ball handlers late in the shot clock, explosive enough to recover to his assignment in time
• High straight-line speed, is a tangible asset in transition as a rim runner
• Terrific timing and hand-eye coordination as the primary rim protector, frequently blocks ball at apex, presence has deterrent effect on opponents
• Gets good hits on screens, even though he gets called for quite a few moving screens, flips the angle of the screen well
• Displays flashes of touch (hook shots, short jumpers)
• Signs of stationary playmaking, has shown he can punish double-teams by locating cutters (especially at the ANGT)

Improvement Areas: 

• Positioning in drop coverage is a recurring issue: roll man gets behind too frequently and easily. His backpedaling is fine, but he puts himself in jeopardy with his initial positioning
• Sometimes out of control with his positioning on the interior (trap the box), herky-jerky footwork when closing gaps
• Ball handling and ball security is still fairly rudimentary, limits his utility in DHOs/ short roll
• Vision of the bigger picture on defense, can be a step behind with rotations
• Prone to predetermined reads offensively, struggles to adjust his decision on the fly in response to the reactions of the defense
• Low processing speed and spatial awareness, sometimes clogs the spacing by occupying unfavorable spots (in transition, as the roll man)
• Shaky hands on catches
• Can be jumpy around the perimeter

Outlook:

Although he would have immensely benefited from a stint with one of the most prestigious NCAA programs, Ege Demir has continued the upward trajectory of his development curve and proved that he can have a future as a rotational piece for a high-level international team. The biggest intrigue derives from his play on the defensive end, where Demir utilizes his terrific physical tools to be a large presence in the paint and disrupts opposing ball handlers in aggressive pick and roll coverages (at the level and above the screen). On the other side of the ball, Demir’s most likely role will be as a play finisher, either as a recipient of passes in the dunker spot or as the roll man, where he can make use of his fast acceleration. In order to reach the next step, continuous repetitions at a high level will be the key to success, particularly for the consistency of his pick and roll defense. While it seems rather unlikely that the Turk will provide tangible floor spacing in the near future, his touch indicators provide some hope that he can add a consistent “push shot” to his arsenal in order to punish dropping bigs. Moreover, his playmaking for others is a crucial swing skill. While Demir did a decent job of distributing the ball in the small sample of the 2022 ANGT Belgrade (2.0 assists, 22.2 AST%), he has not yet been able to carry over the same kind of playmaking to his lower-usage role in the pros. Continuously improving his passing would significantly increase his offensive versatility and long-term ceiling.

As of now, Demir would arguably be best advised to process the feedback he will receive from NBA decision makers over the course of the draft process and work on his most pressing improvement areas to make a case for himself as a viable draft selection in 2024. If he actually decides to keep his name in the 2023 NBA Draft, the most likely path to an NBA roster spot seems to be via an Exhibit-10 contract as a UDFA, which would enable him to compete for a roster spot during training camp.

Ege Demir (C | 207 cm | ‘04) ~ Tofas

12.5 pts, FG2-58.3%, FG3-0.0%, FT-44.4%, 6.8 reb, 2.0 ass, 1.3 st, 2.8 to, 3.3 blck

Even though Ege Demir was amongst the best bigs at this tournament, I must admit that I expected more from him. In some instances it looked like he is a man playing with kids but overall I didn’t get the impression that he is way above the competition. He was physically too dominant and had some attractive dunks, blocked a few shots high above the rim plus grabbed most of available rebounds. He was playing with good energy and with a lot of contact and needed to leave the court every few minutes to catch some breath. 

Demir is physically too dominant in comparison to his peers and other players in the tournament. Really strong and athletically gifted player that uses his tools well on both sides of the floor. In defense he is a great rim protector and with his great vertical leap he can block some shots really high and above the rim. Showing some good motor and hustle for rebounds on both sides of the floor. Offensively he is still a little raw, not having much feel for the game and relies mostly on his strength and athleticism and finishes around the rim.