Omer Yurtseven granted release from NC State

Yesterday reports came out that sophomore center Omer Yurtseven was meeting with head coach Kevin Keatts to discuss his options for the future. Today, it seems that meeting has resulted in Keatts granting Yurtseven a release from NC State.

In a release, Keatts said, “Omer and I had an opportunity to visit and he expressed his intentions to either pursue a professional career or consider transferring from NC State. We will certainly grant his release. Omer made incredible strides this year, increasing his scoring in ACC play from 4.9 points per game to 14.9, improving his rebounding and hitting 46 percent from three-point range while developing into an All-ACC player. We wish him continued progress and success in his future.”

Much has been said about Yurtseven’s progress this season, and it can’t be understated. Keatts took him under his wing, helping him improve his skills and putting him in position to succeed. Watching the Wolfpack Hustle series you get a taste for how he pushes Yurt (and all the players) to grow. This growth was a welcomed surprise after his performance last year. Yurtseven himself admits he was still adjusting to life in this country, so it shows that the extra year of hard work paid off.

Entering the tournament, this story about Keatts convincing Yurt to come back was quite illuminating, including the great quote from Keatts to Yurt, “I’ll make you a superstar”.

Best of luck to Omer in his future efforts. I assume this release is just the precursor to him going pro. I think many of us would be highly surprised if he transferred at this point, which would require him to sit out a year. The “Omer is coming” memes ended up working in the end, just took a little longer than originally expected. If he continues working on his game, he could be very successful at the next level. The professional game loves having 7 footers with 3 point range, we might have just the guy for you.