Sport Unites Young Turkish and Armenian Basketball Players

Sport Unites Young Turkish and Armenian Basketball Players

By Carlos Aranaga
Staff Writer

Washington - Two dozen Armenian and Turkish basketball players, both young men and women, came to the United States for a second round of hoops diplomacy January 29-February 12. The teams, who first met in August 2010 at a U.S.-hosted basketball program in Turkey, aimed to learn about scholastic sports and leadership, and trained with former professional star Gheorghe Muresan in Izmir and in Washington.

Funded by the U.S. State Department's SportsUnited Division and managed by the nonprofit World Learning organization, the visits are an international sports initiative to expose the young players and their coaches to U.S. training methods and school sports activities, all while fostering mutual understanding between youth of the neighboring countries.

"We hope the program inspires Armenia and Turkey to support young athletes and that these kinds of sports initiatives serve as a bridge to the future for young people of both countries," said Doug Silliman, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. The United States has one of the most developed scholastic sports programs in the world, with millions of school-age youth competing in a variety of sports.

The first leg for the secondary-school and college-age athletes was in Turkey, August 19-29, 2010. Players, picked from club teams in Izmir, Turkey, and Yerevan, Armenia, began with a one-week camp in Oren, Turkey, where they learned about youth leadership and intercultural communications while training in basic game skills. Week two took them to Izmir for exhibition play, to see an International Basketball Federation championship game and take part in a basketball clinic led by former NBA player Muresan.

A college athlete in his Romanian homeland, Muresan had a nine-year professional career in the United States and France, including six years in the NBA with the Washington Bullets and the New Jersey Nets. At 2.31 meters in height, Muresan is one of the two tallest players ever to play in the NBA.

Since retiring from professional play, Muresan has often mentored young players in the United States and around the world. In 2004, Muresan founded the Giant Basketball Academy, a Washington-based sports program dedicated to the teaching of proper basketball fundamentals to boys and girls of all ages.

In Washington, the youth teams trained and played alongside basketball counterparts at Walter Johnson High School and St. John's College High School, and got to work with professional and college-level coaches. They also had the chance to watch play between Hofstra and George Mason universities and between Georgetown University and the University of Louisville.

Among the basketball mentors the teams met in Washington was former Brandeis University guard Florian Rexhepi, who led a youth development workshop for the teams. Rexhepi, originally from Skopje, Macedonia, was the 2005 rookie of the year in the University Athletic Association, a college conference.

"We asked him loads of questions about his basketball career," said Masha, a player with the Armenian girls' youth basketball team. "He helped us to understand that through basketball we can understand life, make strong friendships and, what's the most important, play not only for ourselves, but for the whole team."

Also in Washington, the teams took part in a hip-hop dance workshop at the Joy of Motion Dance Center, aimed at building team cohesion using dance as a tool. The players also took part in a basketball clinic with players and staff from the Washington GreenHawks, part of the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League.

The two teams also toured Washington sites and visited the State Department, where they were greeted by Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Spencer P. Boyer.

The visiting youth teams capped their week with a clinic hosted by the NBA's Washington Wizards before getting to see the Wizards play the Atlanta Hawks at the Verizon Center arena February 5.

The second week took the group to Florida to watch the Orlando Magic face off against the Los Angeles Clippers, to tour the University of Central Florida, and to meet with peers and sports officials in Tampa.

Project organizers hope to be able to send both teams on a third leg to Yerevan, Armenia, later this year.

A short video of the students training ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nuZdUOKcNs ) with the Washington GreenHawks is available on YouTube.com.

ENDS

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