Player Spotlight: Demir Dogan - Turkey's versatile threat

NIS (Serbia) - Demir Dogan has been considered as one of the most intriguing long-term prospects in Europe over the past couple of years, ever since his breakout performance at the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021.

The Turkish forward has been well regarded in scouting circles due to his combination of elite size and perimeter skillset.

As Dogan impresses with his play in Nis, FIBA contributor Ignacio Rissotto takes the opportunity to dive deep into Dogan's game.

OFFENSE - A VERSATILE THREAT

When catching the ball in the perimeter Dogan is a threat to initiate drives. His combination of 2.05m size, speed, power, fluidity and creativity with the ball in his hands make him a mismatch for bigger, slower defenders, which allows him to attack closeouts with ease as well as to create advantages for himself.

Dogan's fluidity with the ball is also on full display in transition. He is able to run the break out of defensive rebounds, taking the ball coast to coast. In these situations, he shows impressive body control and the ability to string different dribble moves together to drive his way out of crowded spaces.

His finishing at the rim, however, is still a work in progress. Dogan's size, speed and ability to find the open space with the ball in his hands allow him to attack the rim with momentum, but the touch hasn't fully developed and he can struggle to convert off-balance shots against contact. Developing a floater game and improving on his finishing on tough layups would probably do wonders for his offensive profile.

Dogan utilizes his gravity as a driver to set up open teammates. While he had shown flashes as a playmaker in previous competitions, he seems to have taken a leap recently. The forward has been showing an incredible level of vision and reactiveness as a passer for his size; being quick to react and accurate to find teammates through tight passing windows. His seemingly newfound ability to make plays for others on a consistent level, gives Dogan's game yet another offensive threat.

Another aspect that has seemingly come around is his shooting, which had always been a weak spot for Dogan as he had converted just 17.5 percent of his three-point attempts in his previous two FIBA competitions. It's clear that the mechanics still need work: his set point is too far apart from his body, his form is rigid, not quite flowing from one motion to the next one and his release is inconsistent from shot to shot, not always holding his followthrough which leads to him missing shots long or short.

With that being said, in Nis, Dogan has shown the ability to convert catch-and-shoot jumpers with little time and space to prepare the shot, and even some pullup jumpers from the mid-range - all great indicators of the improvement he has made in this area.

The final piece of the puzzle is his interior offense, which is yet another area in which Dogan has shown definitive improvement. Dogan seems to have grown into his body over the past few years, now being able to provide a presence in the paint. He has really good catching ability through contact, being able to secure offensive rebounds and entry passes. Once he catches the ball, he shows the strength to back down opponents in the post and the footwork to find the open space and create his own shot.

DEFENSE - WAVERING FOCUS

On the defensive end of the court, there’' definitely two sides of the coin for Dogan.

When he's the primary defender, whether in the perimeter or in the paint, he plays with effort and is able to make defensive plays on the ball. He gets low, in a stance to defend ball-handlers in the perimeter, and he has enough lateral speed to stay in front of opposing forwards and bigs and contest their drives at the rim. In the paint, he has enough size and strength to hold his own in post-up and other scoring situations around the basket.

One area for improvement is his awareness off-the-ball, he's not always on time on rotations and his impact as a help side rim protector has been limited because of it. Similarly, he can get lost in zone defense and in perimeter rotations, being late to contest open jumpshots.

OUTLOOK

Dogan's performance at Nis indicates that he has shed the 'lanky project' label: he is a real prospect who can contribute offensively in a number of ways, with his combination of size, ball-handling ability, passing, interior self-creation and flashes of shooting.

If the off-ball defense comes around and he continues to refine different aspects of his game, it's easy to envision Dogan finding himself on the radars of NBA teams ahead of the 2025 Draft, and becoming a vital part of Turkey's frontcourt of the future. His all-around offensive game should coexist extremely well with Berke Buyuktuncel's defense, Alperen Sengun's interior scoring and Adem Bona's explosive finishing and rim protection.

FIBA