Getty Omer Yurtseven was signed by the Miami Heat on Friday after the big man went undrafted out of Georgetown in 2020.
The Miami Heat finally filled their 15th and final roster spot. Ӧmer Yurtseven will join the team on a non-guaranteed contract and earn a place in their development program next year.
The 7-foot center from Turkey appeared in 14 games (one start) for the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League this season. He averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game while shooting 62.6% from the field. He scored in double-figures 11 times, including a season-high 34 points on March 1. The 264-pounder — only nine players weigh more than him — also shot 38.1% from three-point range.
Yurtseven went undrafted out of Georgetown in 2020 after transferring there from North Carolina State. He was a decorated international star in Turkey where he earned a championship with the Turkish Super League (2014) and won the coveted Turkish Super Cup (2013).
Ӧmer Yurtseven will be the first player in franchise history to wear jersey #77
Here was the scouting report (via NBA Scouting Live) on a guy who was once compared to former Heat big man Matt Geiger:
He is a versatile scorer that can do so in multiple ways, and he can do to create mismatches that can swing in his favor. Yurtseven is also a solid rebounder, as he will help his team on the boards this year. But he will need to improve defensively, and he can sometimes struggle against more athletic opponents. Even still, Yurtseven may have the smarts and the skills to excel as a role player in the NBA.
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Yurtseven Had 91-Point Game in High School
Yurtseven once scored 91 points and grabbed 28 rebounds in a single game for his under-17 club in Turkey. That’s not a typo. Ninety-one points. According to Sports Illustrated, Yurtseven scored 91 points on 49 shots during a 115-82 victory for his Fenerbahce squad. He was 17 years old at the time.
Fve-star 7-footer Omer Yurtseven scored 91 points in a game before signing with N.C. State. t.co/KwsM3FQOeN
The lofty performance wasn’t enough to get him drafted in 2020, though. He took some heat after bailing on North Carolina State for Georgetown in 2019, although his reason for transferring was a pretty valid one. He simply wanted to learn from one of the greatest NBA players to ever do it: Patrick Ewing. The Hall-of-Fame center is the head coach for the Hoyas.
“He has been there, he has done that,” Yurtseven said of Ewing, via the News Observer. “I’m hoping he can teach me, as a big man.”
Udonis Haslem Reflects on Infamous Ejection
AmericanAirlines Arena erupted on Thursday night after Udonis Haslem got ejected less than three minutes into his 2021 debut. He scored four points and grabbed one rebound, then the 18-year veteran was gone.
Haslem had been jawing with Philadelphia 76ers center Dwight Howard when things got heated. It was probably the last appearance from the legendary Heat big man. If so, he went on his terms. Know that.
“It was fun for me to just go out there and play the game of basketball and continue to show people that I can still play at a high level and help my team win,” Haslem told reporters. “I appreciate the crowd and my teammates when I scored the basket. I noticed everybody over there cheering for me. It was a great memory. If this is the last one, then I finished it the only way Udonis Haslem could, with an ejection.”
Udonis Haslem per-36 stats this season:
48.0 PPG
12.0 RPG
100.0 FG%
He’s averaging 1 fight per minute this season.
Miami (39-31) returns to the court on Saturday night (May 15) when they travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks. The Heat is currently locked into the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference but they could move up to No. 4 or No. 5, depending on what the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks do. Haslem and company will have to win their final two games either way.
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