Ermal Kurtoğlu

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Ermal Kuqo


caption =
nickname =
league = ACB
height_ft = 6
height_in = 10
weight_lbs = 260
position = Power forward, Center
birth_date = birth date and age|1980|2|12
birth_place = Korçë, Albania
death_date =
death_place =
team = flagicon|ESP Pamesa Valencia
college = Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State College
nationality = flagicon|ALB Albania, flagicon|TUR Turkey
draft =
draft_team =
draft_year =
career_start = 1993
former_teams = SK Tirana (1993-1995)
Fenerbahçe (1995-1999)
Fort Scott Community College (1999-2000)
Seminole State College (2000-2001)
KK Split (2001-2002)
KK Pivovarna Lasko (2002-2003)
Efes Pilsen (2003-08)
awards = NJCAA (2000-2001) Preseason All-American with Seminole State College
Beko Basketbol Ligi (2003-2004, 2004-2005) Champion with Efes Pilsen

Ermal Kuqo (Ermal Kurtoğlu in Turkey) (born February 12, 1980, in Korçë, Albania) is an Albanian-Turkish basketball player. He currently plays for the Spanish side Pamesa Valencia. Kuqo is a part of the Turkey national basketball team as well.

His father Robert and uncle Artan are basketball idols in his home country Albania. Kuqo came to Turkey when he was 15. He gained Turkish citizenship in 1997 and because of Turkish laws had to change his last name to Kurtoğlu. He still uses his Turkish last name Kurtoğlu when he plays in the Turkish league and the National Team, but in the Euroleague he prefers "Kuqo".

Professional career

At the age of 15, Kuqo started his professional career with the club Fenerbahçe. He played college basketball at [http://www.fortscott.edu Fort Scott Community College] in Fort Scott, Kansas and Seminole State College in Seminole, Oklahoma, United States. After junior college, Kuqo signed a Letter of Intent with Texas Tech University in the NCAA to play for the legendary Bobby Knight, but because of his previous European pro career, he got ruled ineligible. After that he decided to come back to Europe and continue his career with the famous dalmatian team KK Split (ex-Jugoplastika). After a frustrating season with the Žuti-s he finally had his breakout season with the Slovenian club Pivovarna Lasko, averaging almost 13 ppg and 7 rpg in the Adriatic League. In the summer of 2003 Ermal signed a two year contract with the Turkish powerhouse Efes Pilsen, coached by Oktay Mahmuti, where he had an immediate impact both in the Euroleague as well as in the Turkish domestic league, establishing himself as one of the premier players of the Turkish champions.

National team

In 2004 summer, facing a choice of national teams he selected Turkey, which gave him the opportunity to compete in the highest level competitions, such as EuroBasket and World Championships. In the past four seasons, Kuqo has developed into a monster under the basket. Although he is a little bit undersized for the center position he makes up for it with his uncanny instincts and great fundamentals on the low block. He also has a decent three-point shot which can surprise opponents. His back-to-the-basket game improved greatly last season with an array of different finishing techniques. But he is still a below average rebounder. He was suspended 6 months after EuroBasket 2005 from official basketball due to a dubious steroid violation, after taking a doctor-prescribed medicine to prevent hair loss. The FIBA committee decided that it was just an innocent mistake and no performance enhancing drug was involved, so Kuqo only got the minimum ban of 6 months, allowing him to return and play for Efes Pilsen on March 22, 2006. During his time off from official competitions he worked out twice as hard as anybody else. Just what you'd expect from this blue collar worker.

Personal life

Ermal got married to Croatian citizen Marijana Mijuskovic from Split on July 7, 2007 in a small private ceremony in the prestigious Split hotel "Le Meridien Lav". During the offseason Ermal resides in Tirana, Albania and Split, Croatia.

Awards/Achievements

* [Turkish Cup Finalist -'99 (Fenerbahce)]
* [Croatian Cup Final Semifinals -'02]
* [Slovenian League All-Star Game -'03]
* [Slovenian Cup Semifinals -'03]
* [Slovenian League Semifinals -'03]
* [Turkish President's Cup Finalist -'03, '04, '08]
* [Turkish League Regular season Champion -'04, '05]
* [Turkish Federation Cup Finalist -'04]
* [Turkish League Champion - '04, '05]
* [Turkish National Team - '04, '05, '06, '07]
* [Turkish League All-Stars Game - '05, '07, '08]
* [Euroleague Quarterfinals - '05, '06]
* [Mediterranean Games - '05]
* [European Championships in Belgrade - '05: 4 games: 7.0ppg, 2.3rpg, 0.8apg, FGP: 59.1%, FT: 100%]
* [Turkish Cup Winner - '06, '07]
* [Turkish League Regular season Runner-Up - '06, '07]
* [Turkish League Finalist - '06, '07]
* [World Championships in Japan - '06: 9 games: 7.9ppg, 2.2rpg, 1.6apg, 2FGP: 36%, 3FGP: 21.4%, FT: 70%]
* [Turkish President Cup Winner - '06, '07]
* [European Championships in Spain - '07: 6 games: 3.2ppg, 1.3rpg]

External links

* [http://www.ermalkuqo.com Personal website]
* [http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?clubcode=ist&pcode=BKM Euroleague.net player page]