Ilyasova praised by Nowitzki as he leads Turkey in Olympic bid
Ersan Ilyasova has been anything but static this summer.
Since being traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Detroit Pistons in June, the 6-foot-9 forward has assumed a leadership role on the Turkish national team as it aims to qualify for the 2016 Olympics at EuroBasket 2015.
"Our goal, of course, is to go to the Olympics," Ilyasova told eurobasket2015.org's Dimitris Kontos. "But firstly we need to get out of this group in Berlin."
Playing its preliminary-round games in Germany, Ilyasova's squad is one of six teams in the tournament's Group B.
Turkey narrowly defeated Italy on Day 1 of the tourney, with Ilyasova scoring 17 points thanks to a scorching 71.4 field goal percentage.
The Turks played the following day - this time falling to a Pau Gasol-led Spain team - with Ilyasova once again leading his country's efforts with 15 points. On the game, the seven-year NBA veteran shot a respectable 42.9 percent from the field.
Turkey used their off day Monday to rest and prepare for their game against Germany, giving Ilyasova time to reflect on his solid performances to date, but, more importantly, to ensure his team knows what's at stake.
"This is an important game to get qualification for the next round, that is why we're going to come out and put in everything we have."
Turkey and Germany currently have the same record (1-1), however point differential has the Mavericks' Dirk Nowitkzi's German squad ranked ahead of Ilyasova's team. Each team has three games remaining in the preliminary round - including their head-to-head matchup Tuesday - and the top four teams in the group will advance to the knockout stage.
Nowitzki - a legend in his home country and in European basketball circles - acknowledged his rival's recent productivity, saying, "Ilyasova has been playing great, shooting the ball very well."
Through his first two games, Ilyasova has averaged 16 points on an impressive 57.1 percent from the floor in only 21 minutes per game.
"Dirk is one of the greatest players who've played at the '4' spot and hearing this from him is really nice," the 28-year-old said upon hearing the German icon's compliment.
"But at the end of the day, it's all about winning or losing. From this point on, it's either us or them."