Iverson arrives in Turkey
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
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."
I had turkey and cheese today for lunch...fitting.— Lunchboy- Didn't AI always wear a Yankee's hat back in the day? Front runner....— reek3232
- Actually Turkey is not that bad...Lived there for some time and where he is going is just like any other European country. Very free living place BUT when you get in trouble, you are in trouble. I just want the jersey for my collection. AND STOP HATIN!!! You were cheering when he was doing great things.— cuspofpower
- When it is all said and done, Allen Iverson will have an NBA finals ring on his hand before his career is over. Good Luck in Turkey, score lots of points and stay out of trouble!!— DonovanMcNabb
- Allen missed his initial flight to Turkey & arrived LATE Today. What A Shock. NOBODY in the NBA was willing to give Iverson a contract; Another Big Shock. This Guy Is A LOSER! His NBA Career (And his Criminal Record) speak for themselves. "WE Talkin' 'Bout Practice".
That's all you need to know about him. Iverson is the Poster Child for why Guaranteed Money in the NBA is a VERY BAD THING. Good Riddance In Turkey. There is NO WAY he EVER meets the requirements of his 2 year contract.— twobostoo - bottom line is playing for 4 mil when he couldnt even hold on to 100 mil. whats the point?— theeman1
- Why did the Turks sign him? Because there is no Otto'man like him.— Steve Jeltz, the home-run king
- How do you say "Practice? Practice?" in Turkish?— cm3737
- The movie, "Midnight Express" anyone...but that was so 1970s; while the 21st century Turkey is very Islamic and trying to get in good with the mullahs in Iran.— rsh00
- Bittersweet. Maybe he will truly find himself.— reveugene
- Biz egzersiz hakkında konuşuyor oluruz?
- I see that the word "me" is still dominant in A.I's vocabulary.
Love the picture, I'm getting it framed! Their could be a bubble coming out of his mouth that reads "Oh s---! How'd I get here"? - Wow twobostoo, if Iverson is a "loser," what does it make you for commenting on him anonymously on a message board?— mattSR
- However, RSH takes the cake for the overall dumbest comment of the day.— mattSR
Comment removed.
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.
