It is not too often that you see Division I college basketball players with academic pursuits that are overly demanding. This is even more of a rarity when looking at athletes playing for high-profile universities who have the potential to play at the next level. NC State men’s basketball freshman center Omer Yurtseven is breaking away from this norm by striving for excellence on the court as well as in the classroom.
Yurtseven is a 7-foot, 245-pounds center from Istanbul, Turkey who played basketball on Fenerbahce Ulker, a Euroleague team in Turkey. The big man is considered a five-star prospect by 247Sports, and is also ranked as the No. 3 overall center and the No. 25 overall player in the 2016 class. Yurtseven gave up a substantial amount of money by turning down a professional contract to stay in Turkey and play for Fenerbahce, in order to pursue a collegiate basketball career in the United States. However, Yurtseven says his decision to attend college in the U.S. involved much more than just basketball.
“Back there, I couldn’t go to school that much,” Yurtseven said. “I used to take extra classes after school … a total of four classes, and normally kids my age used to take eight classes a day. So I missed four classes, and every day, every week, every month, it kept on adding up. I was left behind in my school work. I said it’s time to go to place where I can take care of [my academics] fully.”
The Turkish star received calls and interest from blue-blood programs including Duke, Kentucky and UNC-Chapel Hill, but many backed off due to the uncertainty surrounding his eligibility. Yurtseven ended up choosing to come to NC State over other notable schools such as Syracuse and Utah. Although the foreign prodigy states that one of the main reasons he chose State was the talent on the roster, he also mentions that there was another big factor which gave the Wolfpack an edge in recruiting him.
“I heard that NC State has a great computer science program,” Yurtseven said. “I talked to a lot of people, who said ‘If you’re thinking about computer science, NC State is a great place to go, they have a lot of resources.’ That affected my decision too.”
Many regard Yurtseven to be a one-and-done player and the highly touted freshman is projected as a possible lottery pick in some NBA mock drafts. Draft Express currently has Yurtseven as the No. 23 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. With the one-and-done era and early departures so prominent in college basketball today, many athletes leave school without receiving their degrees. To Yurtseven, his education has never taken a backseat to his athletic commitments.
“I have invested a lot of time since I started school,” Yurtseven said. “I don’t want to just drop it at the end. I always took care of [my education] so I want to keep going with it.”
The much-esteemed foreign prospect also says that despite the fact that his tenure as a basketball player at NC State may not last longer than a year, his time at the university will be far from over.
“If I have a chance to go to the league, I will go,” Yurtseven said. “I will still come back here to get my education in the off-season or whenever I can find time in between. I care about it. Education and basketball: it has to go together.”
Even with a career likely waiting for him in the NBA, Yurtseven says that his enthusiasm for computers leads him to hopefully one day work in the computer science field.
“I always wanted to know what goes on behind computers,” Yurtseven said. “I always wanted to figure out how to design a computer game. It’s always been my interest. I think I will try to look at some jobs in that.”
With many ambitions and pursuits on and off the court, Yurtseven’s next goal is to finally play and have an impact on this Wolfpack team.
A version of this article appeared in print on Nov. 17, 2016 on page 12 with the headline: Putting the student in student-athlete
