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."
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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.- "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.
- hands Down Ron Paul Comment was the best— cuso20
- One pic is really worth a thousand words...he seems to be thinking, "WHERE THE F--- AM I?" Seriously, I hope he does well over there.
- That photo is awesome! And so too was that Kenny Powers comment.
Unless you really want the worst for the guy -- and I'm abivalent -- this is very SAD.— VicM - Iverson was supposed to be there Saturday but he missed his plane? No way our Bubba Chuck would be late. Guys a world class talent with a Kindergarden class level of professionalism.— MD20202020
- AI showed up late?! That is SO out of character! He's outta there by Christmas— Luriesucks
- He didn't really make any team-oriented comments. He's a dork and he forgot to ask about his Turkish posse and the nearest casino. When you look closely all he really looks like is a Turkey on Pumpernickel in a red Phillies hat. Hahaha.— WantToKnow
- Look at how the guy on the left is clutching AI's arm with both hands. The expression on his face seems to say, "Don't worry my little Yhilly, I will keep you toasty in Turkey".— WantToKnow
- Get real. Do you really think the Turkish government would approve travel visas for the posse? They will have enough trouble with AI.— syddan26
- Just weird to see him outside of a sixers uniform and going to another country. smh. Hope he finds peace there— twistedmetalone
Job one is for someone to get AI a copy of "Midnight Run" so he knows where he's at. It's not you're good old USA.— delcodanno- 100 Mil and he ends up broke playing in Turkey..this is great, quite humbling in his interview from a third world country..The pj's in Va will look good to him upon return.. Oh, this is great..Got to love this loser..Way to go AI..While he played here no Philly gear, now he wers it..Please don't ruin our global name..— ena
- What's the over under on how long he sticks it out in Turkey? He could barely stand Denver, what he the hell is going to do in Turkey when him and da boys need a burger fix? He'll be home for Christmas.— jondria
- Where's his wife and kids?— Joseph DeSantis
- Reminds me of the scene from "Midnight Express"...— RockStar
- Who cares?— foreclosure11
- bottom line 4mil— sophwill
- 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
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- MattSR, you sound totally clueless about what's going in the world today, especially what modern-day Turkey is like where AI is playing basketball.— rsh00
- Uygulama! Biz uygulama bahsediyoruz! O bir aptal gibi davranıyor olsa, bu zenci için çok sabır olmayacaktır. Biz oradan sonraki uçuÅŸ geldi gecekondu onu geri gönderecektir.— juliusman3
- @ juliusman, we're talkin' turkey! Not a game... but didn't you mean Iguodala instead of uygulama?— dasher
- How long until Donovan McNabb ends up in the Turkish Football League?— RockStar
- Iguodala could go there as well for all I care.— juliusman3
- Yes, let's send Iguodala. There's a brick shortage over there.— dasher
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.
