Career: Efes Pilsen (Turkey-TBL, 2003-07). Drafted in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft (#59), by the Atlanta Hawks.

Heir to the Kutluay throne, Akyol is the next big scorer for Turkey. The 20 year-old has been surrounded by hype since the age of 15 and seemed on his way to stardom. But burnout caused Akyol to struggle mightily at Efes Pilsen as he lost his confidence. His teammates as a result lost confidence in Akyol. Not all that surprising considering he has played basketball more or less non-stop for the last five years. Well, hopefully a one month lay-off after the domestic season will be just what the doctor ordered and can help Akyol re-gain a bit of his magic. With second to none fundamentals, he can get past his man in a one meter square area and can knock down the big shot as well. His long arms and active hands make him a capable defender and Turkey needs him back on his game this Eurobasket.