Iverson arrives in Turkey
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Iverson arrives in Turkey
Allen Iverson arrived in Turkey today, greeted by a group of fans chanting fight songs and a throng of media.
Iverson, wearing a Phillies hat and the jersey of his new team, Besiktas, is scheduled to make his debut Saturday after agreeing to a 2-year, $4 million contract.
Iverson was scheduled to arrive Saturday and be honored before the team's game. That was postponed when Iverson missed his flight because the team said he had additional preparations to make before departing.
Besiktas said a light and music show to welcome Iverson will take place on Tuesday.
Iverson joins American guard Mire Chatman and Australian center A.J. Ogilvy on the Besiktas squad. The rest of the team is made up of players from Turkey, Russia and other Eastern European nations.
Here is what Iverson told NTV sports channel:
On fans at his arrival: "They were great. that is the most important thing to be accepted and wanted and appreciated. It was a good feeling to see them come and support me. That's exciting me more and more to get done what I want to get done and that is winning basketball games."
What can we expect? "Just excitement for the fans. Hopefully they will come out and support our team and watch me play. This is the best opportunity is to come out here and give them something they have never seen before. They obviously have seen a little bit of me playing in the NBA, but they get a chance to see a lot more of me."
Have you hard about how into the game the Turkish fans are? "That's one of the greatest feeling about sports and being an athetle is you get the chance to interact with the fans. How much they participate makes it more better and exciting for us. The more excitement they have, the more it will excite me and give me the energy to play hard."
Have you had a chance to learn Turkish? "No, not yet. I'm going to be around my teammates a lot and I'll interact with the fans as much as possible. I bet before I leave here I'm going to speak Turkish."
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
Two pieces of information that should have been included in the story: 1) Are there any TGI Fridays in Turkey? 2) How do you say "I don't like to practice" in Turkish.— syddan26
Wow he looks scared to death! That pic is hilarious! Hope he digs it there.- What is Iverson's opinion on the Gaza Flotilla from Turkey?— burlywood66
- two year contract??? is there any way he lasts even 2 MONTHS there? All those whispers/assumptions about his financial situation must be fairly accurate. Sad situation.— figgypop
- I hope all goes well.— russ4philly
Iverson is the closest thing to Kenny Powers we have.
Is he being taken away by the police. Chapter 2 of Mid-Night Express. How about his crew? When will they arrive in Turkey?— HappyBob- "They were great. that is the most important thing to be accepted and wanted and appreciated. It was a good feeling to see them come and support me. That's exciting me more and more to get done what I want to get done and that is winning basketball games."
I hope he re-prioritizes his NEEDS to be ACCEPTED, wanted and appreciated BEFORE HE DOES ANYTHING ON A TURKISH BASKETBALL COURT!
Enough Said Allen.
I hope they're ok with him completely putting himself before the team.— mondz - Comment removed.
- That picture is pretty funny...— Grazman
- He said he is going to interact wth the Fans. Just like fan appreciation night. Oh, wait.— ALJ
- The good thing is his friends can't distract him over there. It will just be AI and basketball, no Bentley's and BS. Maybe he can re-learn what he forgot before he wasn't getting paid to play.— MSG71
- He's no longer relevant, and he's no longer a story. It's long past time to let it go.
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
