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Turkish star Omer Yurtseven signs with NC State

Senior center Omer Yurtseven of Turkey signed with NC State on Monday.
Senior center Omer Yurtseven of Turkey signed with NC State on Monday.
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Omer Yurtseven wanted a college basketball experience, and he’ll be enjoying it at NC State next year.

The 7-foot, 228-pound Yurtseven is projected as the No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com. He officially visited NC State, Syracuse and Utah, with the Wolfpack trip coming May 5-6. He signed his national letter of intent Monday.

The official visit followed up coach Mark Gottfried and assistant coach Orlando Early going to see Yurtseven in Turkey.

Yurtseven provide an immediate jolt at center for NC State, who is also awaiting the NBA Draft decisions of junior center BeeJay Anya and sophomore power forward Abdul-Malik Abu. The trio would be joined by incoming freshman power forward Darius Hicks, who signed last Friday, and perhaps allow junior center Lennard Freeman to redshirt as he has battled through injuries the last year.

Yurtseven played with professional team Fenerbahce Ulker this past year, appearing in eight games and scoring 1.6 points per game. However, he was a standout this past August at the FIBA Europe under-18 championships, and also attended the Basketball Without Borders Camp in Toronto during NBA All-Star weekend Feb. 12-14. The camp featured 43 elite high school-aged basketball players who were born in foreign countries.

Yurtseven created a buzz last October when he played preseason basketball games against the Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder. He had eight points on 3 of 4 shooting, plus seven rebounds and a block in 15:18 minutes in a 101-96 win over the Nets on Oct. 5.

Yurtseven had four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes of action in a 111-81 loss to the Thunder on Oct. 9.

Yurtseven knows former NC State point guard Engin Atsur, who is also from Turkey. NC State, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Kentucky, Miami, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and USC, all reached out to him the last several months.

NC State has three available scholarships for the class of 2016.

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