Turkey will go into their Eurobasket 2005 preparations with the strongest available squad. Head Coach Bogdan Tanjevic has named his preliminary 20-man group, headlined by NBA players Hedo Türkoglu and Mehmet Okur.

		Hidayet Turkoglu

Tanjevic's task will be to steer back onto track a faltering Turkish national team programme. Following a silver medal at Eurobasket 2001, the team has struggled, finishing in 9th place at the 2002 World Championships and 12th at Eurobasket 2003.

Tanjevic himself is no stranger to Eurobasket glory, having led Italy to the gold medal in 1999. He has already made the first step with his new team, guiding them to an impressive 6-0 record in Eurobasket qualification.

The Turkish Basketball Federation have clearly stated that their long-term goal is to build a team that can win the 2010 World Championship, which they will host. However, Tanjevic will be looking to add to the side's trophy cabinet at Eurobasket 2005.

Turkey will match up with Croatia, Lithuania and Bulgaria in first round action in Podgorica, and are widely favoured to make the last 8 and compete for a medal. 

Turkey Squad

Kaya Peker Ermal Kurtoglu, Ender Arslan, Valentin Pastal (Efes Pilsen), Hidayet Türkoglu (Orlando Magic), Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz), Kerem Tunceri, Kerem Gonlum (Ulkerspor), Erkan Vayeseloglu (Besiktas), Huseyn Demiral, Hakan Koseoglu, Baris Ozcan (Tuborg Pilsener), Firat Aydemir (Erdemirspor), Reha Oz (ITU), Celver Ozer (Darussafaka), Umit Turkoglu (Bandima Banvitspor), Enes Yoldas (Oyak Renault), Volkan Centitahra (Tofas), Mirsad Turkcan (Dynamo Moscow), Ibrahim Kutlay (Panathinaikos).