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EuroBasket 2013 continues through September 22nd, but Montenegro and Turkey have already been eliminated, meaning the Orlando Magic no longer have any players representing their home countries in the tournament. Neither center Nikola Vučević or small forward Hedo Türkoğlu impressed for their respective teams in EuroBasket. Here's a look at how they fared.
Without Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Peković, who sat out EuroBasket and the pre-tournament friendly matches due to ongoing contract negotiations, Montenegro faced long odds to make an impact in the tournament. Vučević, who enjoys playing alongside Peković, was thus a little out of his comfort zone and didn't prominently figure into Montenegro's plans: in EuroBasket, six of Vučević's teammates logged more minutes than he did.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | TOs | FGs | 3FGs | FTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September | Republic of Macedonia | W, 81-80 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3/6 | 0/0 | 3/4 |
| 5 September | Latvia | L, 73-72 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/7 | 0/0 | 2/3 |
| 6 September | Bosnia and Herzegovina | L, 76-70 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2/6 | 0/1 | 2/2 |
| 8 September | Lithuania | L, 77-70 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3/7 | 0/0 | 2/4 |
| 9 September | Serbia | W, 83-76 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4/7 | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| TOTAL | 75 | 35 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 13/33 | 0/1 | 9/13 | ||
| AVERAGE | 15.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 39.4% | 0.0% | 69.2% | ||
Vučević never reached double-figure scoring and shot below 40 percent despite attempting just one three-pointer. He's not an efficient offensive player at the NBA level, but approaches league-average efficiency because he tends to take good shots around the rim. He was not so lucky in EuroBasket. On the bright side, Vučević rejected five shots in 75 minutes, a rate which Orlando would be thrilled to see him replicate in the NBA; in the 2012/13 season, the USC product averaged a block once every 32.4 minutes.
The 34-year-old Türkoğlu didn't produce much either, making just three appearances before sitting out Turkey's final two games. Türkoğlu, who may be on the outs in Orlando, shot just 17.9 percent from the floor and averaged 7.3 points in 28.3 minutes.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Mins | Pts | Rebs | Asts | Stls | Blks | TOs | FGs | 3FGs | FTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September | Finland | L, 61-55 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2/12 | 1/3 | 3/6 |
| 5 September | Italy | L, 90-75 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3/7 | 2/2 | 4/8 |
| 7 September | Greece | L, 84-61 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0/9 | 0/4 | 2/4 |
| 8 September | Sweden | W, 87-74 | Did Not Play | |||||||||
| 9 September | Russia | L, 89-77 | Did Not Play | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 85 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5/28 | 3/9 | 9/18 | ||
| AVERAGE | 28.3 | 7.3 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 17.9% | 33.3% | 50.0% | ||
Türkoğlu has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in Turkey's basketball program, exceeding the 300-game threshold with his home country during one of the friendlies. That achievement is surely his EuroBasket highlight, though there isn't exactly much competition for that honor, given his performance on the floor.
Neither Türkoğlu nor Vučević succeeded in international play quite like Andrew Nicholson did for Canada in the FIBA Americas tournament, but just to suit up for one's home country is an honor. They'll trade their EuroBasket singlets for Magic practice uniforms on October 1st, when training camp begins at Amway Center.