Fenerbahçe Ülker

Infobox Basketball club
color1 = navy blue
color2 = navy blue
name = Fenerbahçe Ülker
nickname = Yellow Canaries
logo =FenerbahceLogo.jpg
imagesize = 150px
leagues = Turkish Basketball League,
Euroleague
founded = 1907
history =
arena = Abdi İpekçi Arena
(capacity: 11,500)
location = Istanbul, Turkey
colors = Yellow and Navy Blue
president = flagicon|Turkey Aziz Yıldırım
coach = flagicon|Montenegro Bogdan Tanjević
championships = Turkish Championships (3): 1991, 2007, 2008
website = [http://www.fenerbahce.org/kurumsal/kategori.asp?ContentCategoryID=38 fenerbahce.org]
h_body=ffff00
h_pattern_b=_navystripes
h_shorts=000066
h_pattern_s=
a_body=ffff00
a_pattern_b=_whitestripes
a_shorts=ffffff
a_pattern_s=

[
thumb|250px|2007-08_Euroleague victory against Chorale Roanne Basket in Halle André Vacheresse, FR] Fenerbahçe Ülker is the professional basketball section of Fenerbahçe SK, a major sports club in Istanbul, Turkey. The club was founded in its current form in 2006, when Fenerbahçe's preexisting basketball section merged with the former Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü, better known both in Turkey and internationally by its sponsorship name of Ülkerspor (from the Ülker Food Group).

The history

About Fenerbahçe

One of the oldest clubs in European sports, Fenerbahçe, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Its basketball team, Fenerbahçe Ülker, has made some of the most loyal and die-hard fans in the world happy. Fenerbahçe SK was founded in 1907 and its basketball section reached great success when the sport established itself in Turkey. Fenerbahçe won national titles in 1957, 1959 and 1965, just before the Turkish League was founded in 1966, and made it to the Euroleague in 1960 and 1966. Its fans had to wait until 1991 for another title, when Levent Topsakal, Larry Richard and head coach Çetin Yılmaz led Fenerbahçe to the Turkish League title over Tofaş S.K..

Fenerbahçe returned to the Euroleague in 1992, but lost in the preliminary round. Fenerbahçe was back in the Turkish League finals in 1992, 1993 and 1995, but could not find a way to get the elusive trophy for a while. A third-place finish in the 1997-98 season allowed the club to return to the Euroleague, and with players like Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Marko Milič, İbrahim Kutluay and the late Conrad McRae. Fenerbahçe advanced to the eighthfinal playoffs, losing there to mighty Real Madrid. The club made it to the Korac Cup quarterfinals in 1996 and 2001, as well as finishing fourth 2005 FIBA Europe League, but it wasn't until summer 2006 that the team became a European powerhouse. Fenerbahçe merged with Ülkerspor, one of the winningest clubs in recent Turkish basketball history and a perennial Euroleague powerhouse since 1997.

Fenerbahçe Ülker play matches in 11.500-seat arena, called the Abdi İpekçi Arena. A new hall with capacity 12.000 is [http://fenerbahce.org/eng/detay.asp?ContentID=447 to be built] in a few years.

Current squad

"As of September 2006"

:"For a listing of past rosters, see Fenerbahçe Ülker past rosters."

Notable players

;TUR
*Mustafa Abi, (6 seasons: '95-'01)
*Serdar Apaydın, (4 seasons: '97-'01)
*Doğuş Balbay, (2 seasons: '04-'06)
*Rasim Başak flagicon|AZE, (5 seasons: '03-'08)
*Hüsnü Çakırgil, (5 seasons: '90-'95)
*Nedim Dal flagicon|BIH, (1 season: '01-'02)
*Hakan Demirel, (3 seasons: '05-'08)
*Kemal Dinçer, (3 seasons: '90-'93)
*Zaza Enden flagicon|Georgia, (8 seasons: '95-'03)
*Orhun Ene, (1 season: '92-'93)
*Semih Erden flagicon|BIH, (3 seasons: '05-'08)
*Harun Erdenay, (1 season: '93-'94)
*Murat Evliyaoğlu, (1 season: '00-'01)
*Ermal Kurtoğlu flagicon|Albania, (4 seasons: '95-'99)
*İbrahim Kutluay, (8 seasons: '93-'99, '06-'08)
*Ömer Onan, (3 seasons: '04-'05, '06-'08)
*Tamer Oyguç, (2 seasons: '98-'00)
*Asım Pars flagicon|BIH, (1 season: '00-'01)
*Cenk Renda, (5 seasons: '90-'95)
*Levent Topsakal, (2 seasons: '93-'94, '97-'98)
*Mirsad Türkcan flagicon|Serbia flagicon|BIH, (2 seasons: '06-'08)
*Oğuz Savaş, (2 seasons: '06-'08)

;BAH
*Trevor Harvey flagicon|USA, (2 seasons: '03-'05)

;BIH
*Damir Mršić flagicon|Turkey, (5 seasons: '01-'02, '04-'08)

;CAN
*Jay Triano, (1 season: '85-'86)

;CRO
*Žan Tabak, (1 season: '98-'99)
*Goran Kalamiza, (1 season: '98-'99)

;LAT
*Kaspars Kambala, (2 seasons: '05-'07)

;flagicon|New Zealand New Zealand
*Mark Dickel flagicon|Australia, (2 seasons: '02-'04)

;SLO
*Marko Milič, (1 season: '98-'99)
*Emir Preldžič flagicon|BIH, (1 season: '07-'08)
*Gašper Vidmar, (1 season: '07-'08)

;SRB
*Radisav Ćurčić flagicon|Israel, (1 season: '99-'00)
*Dragan Lukovski, (1 season: '00-'01)

;UKR
*Alexander Lokhmanchuk flagicon|Austria, (1 season: '98-'99)

;USA
*Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, (1 season: '98-'99)
*Eddie Basden, (1 season: '06-'07)
*Tanoka Beard, (1 season: '00-'01)
*Cory Blackwell, (1 season: '86-'87)
*Chris Booker, (1 season: '04-'05)
*Winford Boynes, (1 season: '83-'84)
*Adrian Caldwell, (1 season: '94-'95)
*Joe Ira Clark, (1 season: '06-'07)
*Dallas Comegys, (3 seasons: '95-'98)
*Corsley Edwards, (1 season: '04-'05)
*Sylvester Gray, (1 season: '99-'00)
*Keith Jennings, (1 season: '99-'00)
*Bernard King, (1 season: '03-'04)
*Tarance Kinsey, (1 season: '07-'08)
*Conrad McRae, (2 seasons: '93-'94, '98-'99)
*Kevin Rankin flagicon|Turkey, (1 season: '94-'95)
*Larry Richard, (2 seasons: '89-'91)
*Marc Salyers, (1 season: '04-'05)
*Jeff Sanders, (1 season: '99-'00)
*Mitch Smith, (2 seasons: '94-'95, '97-'98)
*Will Solomon, (2 seasons: '06-'08)
*Jarod Stevenson, (1 season: '05-'06)
*Billy Thompson, (1 season: '89-'90)
*Henry Turner flagicon|Turkey, (3 seasons: '95-'98)
*Tyson Wheeler, (1 season: '98-'99)
*James White, (1 season '07-'08
*Rickie O'Neal Winslow, (1 season: '93-'94)

Achievements

Turkish League Championship

1990-91, 2006-07, 2007-08

Turkish Championship

*Fenerbahçe (3): 1957, 1959, 1965

Turkish Cup

(as Turkish Federation Cup)
*Fenerbahçe (1): 1967 [ [http://www.tbf.org.tr/tbfweb/tbfweb2.nsf/TBFV1_Sampiyonlar_Form?OpenForm&Lig=9 Men's Turkish Cup Champions] ]

Turkish Super Cup

(as President's Cup)
*Fenerbahçe (2): 1990, 1991

President’s Cup

*Fenerbahçe (2): 1994, 2007

Euroleague

*Fenerbahçe : Euroleague 2007-08 Top 8

EuroCup Final Four

*Fenerbahçe: Eurocup 2004-05 Final Four

ee also

*"See also Turkish National Men's Basketball Team"
*"See also Fenerbahçe Women Basketball Team Fenerbahçe İstanbul"

External links

* [http://www.fenerbahce.org Official Fenerbahçe site] tr icon en icon de icon pt icon
* [http://www.fenerbahce.org/basketbolerkek/ Fenerbahçe Ulker Official Web Page] tr icon
* [http://www.euroleague.net/main/teams/showteam?clubcode=ULK Euro League Page] en icon
* [http://www.tblstat.net Statistics] en icon

References