By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned during a TV interview that he is open to giving Shane Larkin a Turkish passport so the player can join the national team.
“We will do what we need to do about it. We would like to see such a successful basketball player in our national team. Larkin can take our national team to very good results”, commented Erdogan.
Larkin himself had expressed his interest to join the Turkish national team in the future, with Efes coach Ergin Ataman also supporting the idea of Larkin playing for the national team.
National team coach Ufuk Sarica also addressed the matter and the possible difficulties of the player getting a Turkish passport, however, it seems that after Erdogan’s comment the paperwork can be a formality.
It will remain to be seen if he finally gets to follow the path of fellow American-born and naturalized Turkish guards, like Scottie Wilbekin and Bobby Dixon. Larkin reacted with the following tweet.
I want to thank the Turkish President, Mr. Erdogan, for his kind thoughts about me. pic.twitter.com/baJWt11L9t
— Shane Larkin (@ShaneLarkin_3) December 16, 2019
It has to be noted, of course, that under FIBA rules only one naturalized player can be used in the final roster of any national team.
Photo: EuroLeague