Very nice interview! Sounds like a very good personality. Very positive in general. seems to be living his dream, enjoying it. Thinks Rockets will be contenders in 3-4 years. The only negative comment I remember from the interview: 'Mobley gets the ball immediately when he posts up since he is a lottery pick'. It is a shame, our guards sometimes ignore him. They needed to use a dictionary with the translator . No wonder he let her go.
He thinks Lucas is funny even he does not understand what he says. Maybe it is because he does not understand what he says.
Maybe he think its funny Lucas acts like he coach Carter all the time, working with troubled kids thinking he still in the ghetto not billion dollar industry
I have always found the captain hardass routine hilarious, I just can't take people like that seriously. To me, Drill Sergeants were just constant comedy in basic training. I mean, a lot of the stuff you had to do still sucked, but it was kind of hilarious at the same time. Perhaps that's how he views Lucas.
Lucas is basically your friend and your fiercest instructor at the same time. Me thinks Sengün enjoys watching his 2 sides at display.
Great catch, HB! I followed your link, and here is a copy and paste of the rest of the interview, for those with overworked link-clicking-fingers. This part actually precedes the other part in the original interview: -------- Was there a sequence you had your eye on before the 2021 NBA Draft? Or the thought that this team can take me... I've had six 'workouts'. I've trained in Sacramento, San Antonio, Orlando, and Charlotte. Golden State and Oklahoma came to Miami, where I lived at that time. I just couldn't do what I wanted in Orlando. Because on Friday we flew, landed, went to practice. My body was not well. And in those trainings, they get everything done, they want to see every detail… You always attend meetings because they have the thought of choosing you from the top row. So you get very tired, both physically and mentally… I said Orlando was bad, but even they were very interested. That's why I was waiting for one of the teams I 'workout' to choose me. We were getting news on draft night all the time, we waited and waited, we came to 16. I thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would have chosen me if no one else had chosen. The workouts in Oklahoma were productive, people around me were saying, "It would be great for you there". For some reason, my heart wasn't quite there. Draft night, "OKC will pick you but trade you to Houston" information came. I hadn't practiced pre-draft training in Houston, but my manager said they were calling me all the time. Admittedly, it was frustrating to be placed 16th, but I came to a great city. In Houston, I'm happy where I am. You mentioned it too, but we want to unpack it a bit. Psychological tests are as popular as the physical tests for young talents before the draft. What did you encounter on the mental side of the job? For example, we trained in Oklahoma for an hour and held a meeting for an hour. There they said, "You will talk to the psychologist for 15-20 minutes". "I have prepared questions for you, you will answer them," came the psychologist. I saw the questions, I swear, was it 270 or 210, so many questions… But you know, their English is different, they used such strange, difficult words… We look at the questions with my translator, try to understand, consult dictionaries, and the psychologist observes us in the process. . Seriously, I can say that I've done so much physical training, I've never suffered as much as that psychological test. They said 15 minutes, it took an hour and a half, it was incredible… Sometimes we hear that teams change their preferences as a result of those tests... We officially took the test in Orlando, it's like an intelligence test. They give you a tablet, something comes up, you have to press the keys by reacting instantly. We were playing games. But we realized that all this is important for the teams. What was their view of the game? Did you see that they observed you well and made correct analyzes in the first contacts? Frankly, they expected less from me, they were a bit surprised in the Summer League. There is a situation like this: I spent the last season well, but the training with the teams before the draft is a little different. You play one on one, sometimes two on two, sometimes three on three. I am a bit more of a team player, in team basketball, I can reveal my good qualities in a structure, so five against five is more suitable for me. Everyone was surprised at first when he spent the Summer League well with the Rockets jersey. Of course, let me also point out that; I wasn't very defensive last season, I didn't like that part of it, to be honest... That's why the observers thought I was weak in defense before the draft. But they noticed in Houston that my defense was pretty good too. Already in the pre-draft reports, statements such as "having problems in pairing with opponent shorts in duo defense and after 'switch'" were used in the 'weaknesses' section. You broke that perception right away... "We didn't expect you to defend so well," they began to say. When was your first contact with the Rockets? General manager Rafael Stone and his team said they're following you and are also negotiating trades with teams between the six and 16. They talked about it when they got us out of New York after the draft. I heard from the team owners: "We had our eyes on you from the sixth place on, we talked to every team about the possibility of a trade." In your interview with Socrates last season, you talked about your desire to be selected in the hills and maybe staying in Europe for another year; So, as of your current position, do you say "Good thing I went to the NBA right away"? Absolutely. Glad I came. At that point, I did not listen to many people, there were people who tried to confuse me. I was undecided at first. Some people I trusted said, "If you play one more year, you can be selected from the top five." But over time, my mind changed, everything became clearer. As you know, coaches mostly used you in the low post or open field in Turkey... We even had a chat before we left; You thought you were going to a climate where you could play more outside. As of today, in almost every match, you pass a title as the 'point center', you go viral, you find areas where you can direct the game like Nikola Jokic. Do you think that the setter feature has never been highlighted in your Turkish career? Yes, I can show my setter side more here than in Turkey. The most important difference in the NBA is freedom. I feel very free. You know the NBA, it's a place of entertainment. Coaches give me that space and that confidence. Whenever I enter the field, they direct the game through me. I take the balls either in the low post or on the top, outside the three-point line. And you shoot in the NBA, nobody says anything. In fact, they get angry even more when they don't try when they have found the three-pointer position here. Their views on basketball are different. How is coach Stephen Silas' suggestion? What does it say to you in this sense? It doesn't say much, and there's no need for it, because as soon as I enter the game, I see that you've built everything on me. They give me the ball at the top, lead the others to cuts without the ball. For example, he didn't play post-up very often in the beginning, but now it gives me more post-up chances as I see what I'm doing. I've earned your trust. Recently, coach Silas said, "I took out my past playbooks from the archive, I'm looking at post-up sets, I didn't think we would play post-ups this much, Alperen changed our game"... Exactly. We started to talk a lot about games with their backs in training, games and video meetings. I like this too.
At the start of the season, the Rockets had set their minds on becoming one of the league's top runners. The technical team stated that they would not set strict limits for the development of young players and would give freedom to the players. How did you feel when you heard the idea of over-paced gaming? It doesn't matter to me. After all, I can cross the field fast and play post-up in transition attack, there is no need for a half-court. I came thinking that I could keep up with any game. But after seeing my post-up dexterity, my movements in and around the painted area, they focused in that direction. Because the opponents are hard to defend, the defenses are not prepared as post-up based attacks take up less space in modern systems. Now there is another side of the matter. At first, the teams were surprised at my movements in and around the painted area, but over time they understood my attacking habits. When I try to go to the back or face rim I see more frequent double compression, I feel like they better predict where to turn. You know, there's the 'rookie wall' talk in the NBA. They told me that at some point I would experience this. They told me to be prepared for the wall by talking about bad scenarios such as "They will solve everything, you will feel like you can't do anything, you will get demoralized". I had some ups and downs, but I don't think I experienced that drop. The tempo is very intense in the NBA. It's been two months since the season started, we've already played 31 matches… Even if you play bad games at that pace, they're probably telling you to forget about it quickly. There is always a new match coming, there is always a chance to make up... Which I was devastated when I played badly last season, the world was really falling apart on me, that week was terrible. But now I try not to care because there are always matches. For example, you play a match, one day you have a chance to rest, the next day you go back to the field. You don't have much time to be sad or happy. If you get depressed after defeats in the NBA and look upset at the next game, you'll never be able to recover. Speaking of forgetting, the Rockets had a very bad start to the season. You have lost back to back, you had one win for a while, you had 16 losses. Rumors were circulating about the future of Coach Silas. What was the mood in the team at that point? Everything is quickly forgotten here. Everyone is more comfortable. But there came a point when we all got bored. We renew one after another, we have conversations within the team. If there was someone else in our place, he might have quit completely, but we wanted to win. We didn't go into matches with the head of "we will be defeated anyway". We were very well motivated, we found a way to play a team game. At the beginning of the season, everyone was approaching the matches more individually, this changed at that turn. Everyone thinks more of each other now, that was one of the secrets of that seven-game winning streak. We could have won the eighth in the series, but the Milwaukee Bucks were a little heavy. Your team owner Tilman Fertitta is also an assertive figure. Regardless, rumors were circulating that he didn't want to see a losing Rockets. Did he have a message for the team in the spiral of defeat? Tilman never came to speak in the locker room. But before the season, we were going to his boat, we were having dinner together. And as far as I can see, he is one of the most humble people in the world despite being that rich. For example, he has a lot of restaurants in Houston, he has a lot of money, but when he goes to other restaurants, he does not demand special treatment, he sits with everyone. His children are particularly humble.
This part came AFTER the part I originally shared: -------- It's time to ask Hakeem Olajuwon here. You mentioned that you could work with him one day, there was a dialogue between you and even on this issue… He has already worked a lot with the Houston big guys in the past, with Yao Ming etc. But over time, he stopped coming to the hall because he didn't stay in Houston for a long time and the system changed. Of course I want to work with him. After all, we're talking about Hakeem, bro. As for the communication between us… He congratulated us after a match. He said to me, "I like footwork very much, I'll show you some moves." I said "always". Anyway, John Lucas and Hakeem are pretty close friends. Our contact with Hakeem did not continue after that speech, as we have been on the road all the time lately. I'll talk to Lucas when I get back, arrange a meeting with Hakeem. You mentioned the rookie wall. In Scouting reports, opponents now know their every move step by step. Do you feel that the way you look at you has changed? My baseline turns are very famous, they were also in Turkey. My opponents learned it, they are closing the bottom line now. I also work hard to find new moves and learn new tricks. That's what's behind my willingness to work with Hakeem. We know you like to do video work, you always mention that when you watch the match tapes of your idols, you get the moves fast. Do you also watch Hakeem videos? I was already watching all of them, but lately I've been watching Jokic more. I even met him. We went to Denver Nuggets away, just as I was entering the field, someone came up behind me and squeezed my shoulders. Before I took off my headphones, I checked my left and right. I took a look, Jokic. I was already talking about him in many places, how much I was influenced by his game. He may have seen the interviews. "How's it going?" he asked, "I'm fine, thank you" I replied but I got excited… "Keep working" he said, I thanked him again but I couldn't talk to the man. I was so excited that I didn't know what to say when he suddenly came out from behind me. We told about that match in S Sport. You wanted to steal your ball in the position you first defended Jokic, he turned from your left and finished. Then you answered with a dunk. Then outside of the three, he faked it, deceived you. It was a precious moment to look at from the outside, but was there any extra excitement to be paired with Jokic? Honestly, you don't feel anything when you take the field. I played against LeBron James too, but you don't really look at who you're playing with on the court, you don't think, "This is it, this is that". That was my mood when I was playing with Jokic. I only have one memory of LeBron. Yes, maybe I wasn't excited on the court, but I was on the bench somewhere. Coincidentally, in one position he was also waiting right in the corner, in front of our bench. He was standing right next to me. At that moment, I said to myself, "I didn't feel it at the game, but the man is LeBron, really LeBron!" I said. When you look carefully, the situation is different. We also have a situation like this. He had Giresun and Bandırma in his career, even coming to Istanbul in a single season after them was a big change. Then you went straight to the NBA… Maybe it will take some more time before you realize what you are going through… Indeed it is, my journey has been a little different. Bandırma was already a small place, it was more like a village. I stayed in Istanbul for a year, it coincided with the pandemic, frankly, I couldn't see much. Then I came to Houston. I am very happy where I am now. I get used to everywhere I go quickly, I saw special days such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, I learned the traditions here. I followed all of them. And aside from Jokic, do you have any one-on-one compliments during the matchups? After all, maybe Houston isn't watched much, but your passes and moves to the credits go viral on social media. Do you have thoughts like "Let me get that pass from behind the waist" in the back of your mind while you are in the game? No, you don't think about him in the game. After all, of course, I can think of it, I can make many passes from behind the waist, but when you think about it, you can't. At least not for me. I like to improvise in position. I don't make long calculations like "I take here, I go there, I pass like this", I play and I go after him as fast as I can move, how quickly I can come up with a solution. Because I have dexterity, those improvisations emerge; back of the waist, back of the head rusts. As for rival matches, I have conversations with European tallies. For example, Nikola Vucevic recently came to me before the match. Most European talls try to talk in a match. Vucevic took his match with me seriously too… How do you communicate with the audience? You turned into a phenomenon in a short time in Houston… I'm great with everyone, my nickname is Alpi. I hear them shouting "Alpi, Alpi" all the time. Everything is very different here compared to Turkey. On the way to the dressing room, you sign people and chat with the audience. You make a move on the low post, and the audience instantly stands up. They already attach great importance to the media and the audience, and everyone states that the league is built on show. I try to show myself as much as possible in this show. You mentioned earlier that the atmosphere in the team has changed. Back-to-back defeats, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green's injuries, followed by a seven-game winning streak, your role in the team has also changed. You communicate very well with shooters like Eric Gordon, Garrison Mathews these days. Or KJ Martin…. His cuts are much more effective when you have the ball. Most of the players in the team now know where and what to do, they act in the game without the ball, they set their cuts accordingly. For example, when I come to the hand-off, they stand behind a little more because I pass the ball first, then I make the curtain. I'm also aware that on the way to the basket there is a shooter in the corner now and KJ Martin is wasted. Tactically, it doesn't matter to me either; Even long, single long, we try them all... We play faster with four shorts, of course, two longs are slower in all circumstances. In the NBA, too, most teams play one long. Our communication has strengthened both on and off the field. We go out to dinners and spend time together. At first, there was a more individual environment, now we are like a team. Jalen and Kevin Porter will be back, hopefully we'll get better. We went out to dinner just yesterday, we are traveling, they make me see new places. For example, John Wall… The man was a five-time All-Star, achieved a lot of great success, we can even joke around with him. It's a strange feeling to suddenly start joking here with the guy I've been watching for years and playing in NBA 2K. Eric Gordon is the pattern. He's a legendary shooter, we're on good terms. We'll go out to dinner, he'll show me around. When I was attacking with them in 2K, I never thought we would get to a point like this one day. How is Wall's role in the team? It has not been played since the beginning of the season, nor could it be traded, but it provides support from the side. He gives me tactics, he shows me "'roll' here," he says. Back off the field, you said that the English lessons you took in Turkey were not very productive because of the tempo. How are the lessons going there? My English was bad when I arrived, I was speaking but I couldn't understand people. They talk pretty fast here, it's hard to understand. I had a lot of trouble with that. But as time passed, I began to speak. Meals and excursions were also effective. I also take lessons, maybe it gets harder when I go away, but I have improved my language despite everything. In fact, one learns by talking more than by speaking. Are you following your rookie class colleagues? You're widely cited as one of the top five players in the 2021 NBA Draft. I'm following Cade. Evan Mobley, Barnes, Giddey… I'm trying to see what they're all doing. For example, lately we see that Mobley has been attacking more from low posts. Of course, the advantage is this: Too many balls are immediately dropped on the tall players selected from the top rows. What are your plans for the national team? Cedi and Furkan found their roles in their NBA careers. While we were thinking about the national team, we put them in the center in recent years. But your departure had a different effect. You have a chance to be at the center of your team. Do you believe that you will be the face of Turkish basketball in the future? Hopefully. Not his face, but I would like to be a leading role of the national team like Hidayet Türkoğlu. I want to be like Cedi Abi, Furkan Abi. I want to carry the national team and do my best. Of course, how much will be played on me, coach Orhun Abi (Ene) decides. I will do my best. We know that you always have short, medium and long-term plans. What goals do you have for the future? Becoming an All-Star, becoming a more central player in Houston… What excites you most at this stage? I think we will be champions in three or four years. Hopefully. Because we have great rookies, we all take time. Jalen, me, Garuba, Josh Christopher… I think we will make a very good team. Personally, my goal is to be permanent. I always underline this. I want to be like Jokic, like special players. Just as I am constantly mentioning Jokic's name now, I would like young players from Turkey and even around the world to say my name and take me as an example in the future.
keep defending the worst coach in the nba, the son of the worst record in the nba holder... lolololol rockets fans deserve their team to be bad
Great find and thanks for the heads-up. Loads of good stuff in the interview. Yes, the translation can be a bit muddled at times. There are sure to be moments when Alpi comes off a bit differently than he intended, but nothing I read changed my very high opinion of him. Sengun is the steal of his draft class.
