One of the remarkable feats of modern basketball was reached last week, when Mirsad Turkcan of Fenerbahce Ulker became the first Euroleague player this decade to pull 1,000 rebounds. To put that in perspective, consider that Turkcan needed just 94 games to grab 1,000, while the closest player to him has 840 rebounds in 153 Euroleague games. While Turkcan's decade-long rebounds average of 10.71 also ranks him first, only two other players in the top 20 hold averages of more than 7 per game. There is no doubt that Turkcan has been the best rebounder in Europe during the decade, which begs the question of whether he might not also rank among the best ever. It's a question Turkcan doesn't even consider. If anything, he is looking forward, not backward. At 31, he has plenty of rebounds left in him, but Turkcan's focus is on helping a young group of frontcourt teammates mature enough to make Fenerbahce a powerhouse as soon as possible. "The team has a chance in two or three years to do something special," Turkcan told Euroleague.net. "I hope I can help those young guys now with my experience and still be here."
Hello Mirsad. Congratulations on becoming the first Euroleague player this decade to take 1,000 rebounds. What does such a unique accomplishment mean to you?
"You know, I am very happy about it because it is one of the best accomplishments of my career and it happened in the best league in Europe. It makes me proud of everyone who believed in me. I think of my first coaches, who encouraged me when I started, and also my current teammates and ex-teammates, who helped me along the way. For me, it's maybe the biggest individual mark of my career, but it shouldn't be the last. I am still young and I hope to keep doing my job for a lot of time."
You got these 1,000 rebounds in just five-and-a-half seasons. Statistics from the old days aren't easy to find or confirm, but do you ever wonder if you are the best rebounder ever in Europe?
"I really don't think about whether I need to be considered the best rebounder ever. It's a goal for me to be the best now, yes. But as an athlete, I just see my career game by game, especially in the Euroleague. Since we don't play a lot of Euroleague games, I always try to do what I do for the team, which is rebound, the best I can. I fight for every ball on defense and for every offensive rebound, and year by year, they have been adding up. To reach 1,000 in this kind of competition is hard, so I am just happy to be the first to do it in the Euroleague this decade."
And you are still young, just 31 years old. How many rebounds does Mirsad Turkcan have left inside him?
"Well, as an athlete, you just live day by day, game by game, as I said. But I was joking with our club president, who asked the same thing. I told him I want to get 907 more, to give me 1907, the same number as the year that Fenerbahce was founded. He laughed, but I feel I can still play basketball with full power and if I can keep going, I think I can have three more seasons like now, doing my best at my main job, taking rebounds."
That 1,000th rebound came in a very important road victory last week at Roma. Are you surprised to see the team on the brink of qualifying early for the Top 16?
"As you know, we brought in a new coach, Bogdan Tanjevic, as well as new players, all of them young. Emir Preldzic and Gasper Vidmar came from Slovenia as teenagers still, and James White was new to Europe. Fenerbahce had a plan to mix the team with young and veteran players, so we had a lot of work to do. The key was to fight every game in the Euroleague, a competition that is closer and closer to the NBA and in which you have to show toughness all the time. We are trying to find ourselves that way. So far we are doing good and have a good chance to make the Top 16. That would be import for Fenerbahce as the first time in the club's history that it will go so far. I have told the coach and the Fenerbahce president that we need to go step by step: this year the Top 16, next year with luck - and you need luck, too - maybe the best eight, or better."
What would an early ticket to the Top 16 mean for the psychology of the team?
"This year the Turkish League is much stronger than in recent years, with a lot of teams playing well in the Euroleague and the ULEB Cup. If we make the Top 16 early, we can maybe work on our game and perhaps look for extra players to help us. For us, however, what's most important is to make the Top 16, and it doesn't matter whether that happens now or in the last week against Partizan in Istanbul. That is our goal, to reach the Top 16, and we are in a good position now to make it."
Through so many ups and downs this season, leadership is extremely important for Fenerbahce. How do you approach your role as a team leader?
"I think our team has a good chance of improving because we play in what maybe, for me, is the best Euroleague group this year. This is very import for our team's experience, maybe not for me or Will Solomon, but what I think could be one of the best future frontcourts in Europe, with Ogur Savas, Semih Erden, Vidmar and Preldzic. They are seeing now what is waiting for them in the Euroleague of the future. Meanwhile, we have great guys like Will Solomon, Damir Mrsic, Omer Onan in the backcourt for leadership. But most important for Fenerbahce is to think about its future in the Euroleague. Coach Tanjevic is doing smart things to bring talented young players here, because Fenerbahce is not the kind of club that can spend 30 million a season on veterans, but with talented young guys, the team has a chance in two or three years to do something special. I hope I can help those young guys now with my experience and still be here when something special happens."
The team lost another veteran, Ibrahim Kutluay, last week. What effect is his departure having?
"Ibo is a very important player for us. He's very popular in the locker room as well as being a great player on the court. He had a problem that had nothing to do with the club, so he had to leave. It will affect our team a lot, but our staff is looking at the right solutions with our new player Tarence Kinsey. But of course it will affect us when a good guy and a leader like Ibo leaves."
Just three Fenerbahce players have been available to play all 10 Euroleague games so far. Do we know just how good this team is yet?
 "It's very important for any team to be together and play together. Early this season we had injuries, Semih Erden is still out for two months, and now Kutluay has left. But Mr. Tanjevic has done a great job using players in different situations. It's so important this year to make the Top 16 after missing last year, and we have the goal to repeat as champions of Turkey, too. Playing together now is needed for all those goals."
You have led teams that were favorites and others that were underdogs to Final Fours during your career. How do you see Fenerbahce today and it's chances to make this a special season?
"You never know. Like I said, Fenerbahce is focused on being stronger in Europe in two or three years, more than now. That's why they brought such young players here. But nobody expected Montepaschi to make the Final Four when I was with them. We were almost out even before the Top 16, up to the last week of the regular season. After that, I don't want to say we had it easier, but to make a big move after that you need luck and all your players in good shape. Any Top 16 team that has both can make the playoffs. There are favorites always: Panathinaikos, CSKA, Barcelona and others, but in the Euroleague you never know what can happen. That's why you keep fighting."
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