 When the subject is rebounding, nobody does it better than Mirsad Turkcan of Fenerbahce Ulker. Name the Euroleague rebounds record, and Turkcan, 34, probably owns it. His 1,205 rebounds are the most in the Euroleague since the year 2000, nearly 200 more than any other player, and in fewer games than any of the other top 10 rebounders. He owns three of the four best rebounding seasons in that span, and four of the five best single games. He alone among active Euroleague players averages a career double-double. All of Turkcan's valuable experience - which includes a pair of MVP awards and multiple All-Euroleague selections - are helping Fenerbahce enjoy a great season as it travels to meet his former team, Montepaschi Siena, for a Group C first-place showdown in the Game of the Week on Thursday. After playing just 10 minutes in the Euroleague due to injury last season, Turkcan is just happy to be back on the court and helping his team move forward toward what he is sure is a bright future. "I am happy for myself to get back on the court in the Euroleague, but I am happier for the team, because everyone is doing a great job until now," Turkcan told Euroleague.net. "And that's important, but only so far. What is most important is coming later, in the Top 16 and the Playoffs. It's then that we have to do our best job."
Mirsad, after playing just 10 minutes in the Euroleague last season, how did it feel to get back and help Fenerbahce Ulker qualify for the Top 16?
"Last year was bad luck. I had a long-term injury of two-and-a-half months that happened to be October until the new year, the same time as the Euroleague regular season. Our team had a lot of injuries and played bad, so we didn't make the Top 16. I recovered fully and this year, with a new coach and whole new system here at Fenerbahce, we are doing a great job. Yes, I am happy for myself to get back on the court in the Euroleague, but I am happier for the team, because everyone is doing a great job until now. And that's important, but only so far. What is most important is coming later, in the Top 16 and the Playoffs. It's then that we have to do our best job."
You are back also to doing what you do best, rebounding and getting double-doubles. How are you doing so in just 20 minutes per game?
"When our new coach, Neven Spahija, arrived in the summer, I had a meeting with him. He said, 'Mirsad, I have been following you for 10 years, and all I want is for you to be a hard worker on this team. I want you to do your best.' And that's what I do. I think that Neven was the biggest addition for us. He makes us better than we were before. I think that now Fenerbahce has good potential to be among the best teams in Europe. We want to make ourselves better, and step by step it is happening. For me, I am 34 and have one more year of contract. I just want to do my best, to rebound, work hard and fight on the court. That's what our coach wants. He's happy, I am happy. I want to leave the basketball court someday like that, not like a guy who can only play 5 or 10 minutes. I want to play my best and help the team, and when I can't, I will go live by myself."
Does getting older make rebounding, your specialty, more difficult?
"Of course, it's difficult. Not more difficult, but difficult. People always say to me, 'How do you get rebounds when you don't jump?' And I always answer the same: 'You must want this ball. You must go and get it because you want it.' I don't have anymore 14 rebounds per game, but to get 6 or 7 in 20 minutes is a respectable effort. Everything is going good, too. I had a conditioning coach I worked with all summer and I have avoided any serious injury so far. So I am healthy enough to rebound. Even though it's difficult, when you want something, you do it."
How does it feel going this week to Siena, where you starred before, for such a big game?
"It is a really big game, with the chance to be first in our group. It's going to be hard. We have a couple health problems that could hurt us. But for me it doesn't matter because I always go on court to put the same effort no matter the situation. Siena, of course, I know about because I played there before. They always play their best at home and they are playing very good basketball. It's going to be hard, but we will try to get the advantage going into the Top 16. In our group, no one knows what will happen."
 You helped Siena make its first Final Four back in 2003. What memories do you keep from that season?
"I remember that we had a very hard time making it to the Top 16. We got in as the last team from our regular season group, so no one expected us, after that, to go to the Final Four. But we won the first two games at home in the Top 16, and that pushed us to the Final Four. It was unbelievable. It was also a great group of people: the players and coaches, the owners. I really enjoyed playing there and loved the fans. Of course, Siena has kept doing a great job over the years, as I knew they would, because the management of the club was serious."
Fast forward to this season, when your team was the last to be undefeated still. How did Fenerbahce Ulker get off to such a great start?
"Fenerbahce, first, has a great new coach, and second, has a totally new organization. Aydin Ors, who is a legend in Turkish basketball, has become the head Fenerbahce's basketball operaitons. He brought a lot of positive energy to the club and a professional way of doing things. They are doing what is best for this club. Second is that Neven Spahija, first of all, is a great person, and after is a very, very good coach. In a very short time, he put us on the right track and in the right system. Our job is to just go on court and play basketball. I believe, as I said before, that Fenerbahce has the potential to be most improved team in Europe. At every game, we have 15,000 people in our gym. The organization is building a new arena that will be one of the best in Europe. With this organization and coaching staff, the club can be one of the best, too, very soon."
Your team seems to keep the spirit from the World Championships, with sold-out crowds at the same arena where a couple of your teammates won the silver medal for Turkey. How big a difference is the fan support this season?
"It's very different for us. In recent years, we only had 2,000 or 3,000 people at our games. This is a totally new atmosphere. For the last game against Barcelona, believe me, I had 200 people calling to ask for tickets, but I could do nothing, because the game was sold out three weeks earlier. The Fenerbahce fans were missing some victories from their sports teams, and we are giving them that this year. Everybody from the fans to the referees sees that we are a very serious basketball team, and we have won some respect for ourselves."
This is the first time in your career that you come off the bench exclusively. Does it make your job any easier or harder?
"No. I know my role on the team. I know exactly, when I go on the court, what I need to do. I am 34 years old. I know I am not 25 anymore. For sure, I don't have the energy for 35 minutes. Plus, I have a great teammate, Darjus Lavrinovic, who has been an excellent player for 10 years, and we know how to share our time on the court."
Of course, the team lost a couple big men in the summer, and then Gaspar Vidmar got injured. How did you guys in the frontcourt deal with all that?
"Gaspar was very, very important player in our system. We lost him in the last 15 seconds of a game we were leading by 30 points. It's a shame, but this stuff happens in basketball. Now, Sean May has joined us, and I think he will be important to our system, too. If you look around Europe, there are always injuries, especially with guys who played all summer with their countries, then came right back for games in the Euroleague, Eurocup and national leagues. Every team has to face these things. Gaspar was a great loss for our team. Now me, Oguz Savas, Darjus and Sean have to fight together to keep us winning."
What does all your experience tell you about how far Fenerbahce can go this season?
"I really don't know how far we can go for this season. But if we can stay healthy, without serious injuries, my goal is always for my team to be in the Final Four. I have been around serious European clubs before. As a club, the goal for everyone is to be in the Playoffs, because in basketball it is always better to go step by step than to try to do big things immediately after years without doing much. We have good help, though, between our fans, as I said before, and the Ulker group supporting all we need. For this year, then, the first goal is the Playoffs, and the second, the Final Four, in my opinion."
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