#4 Alperen Sengun – Center – Turkey
International prospects have been getting better and better talent wise throughout the years and Alperen Sengun finds himself as one of these top international prospects this year. The 6’9”/6’10” center out of Turkey is listed as one of the best center prospects available in this year’s draft class and for good reason.
Not only can he play either the power-forward or center position, but Sengun is really good at reading pick-and-roll sets on the offensive-end of the floor. Not only is he able to make a difference on the screen, but he is very smart in terms of knowing when to roll to the basket and from what angle.
With Besiktas in the Turkey Super League this past season, Alperen Sengun averaged 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.7 blocks and shot 64.6% from the floor, making him the MVP of the league at just 18-years-old! Much like Luka Doncic coming out of Slovenia in 2018, Sengun finds himself as a young international prospect with plenty of high-level, professional experience playing basketball.
To me, the best part of Sengun’s game is his ability to run in transition as a big man. He can make a play defensively on one end of the court and very quickly, he is able to run with his team’s guards in transition to be the recipient of a dunk at the other end. Alperen Segun is not much of a shooter, but he uses his size well on the interior to get to where he wants to be.
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Mechanics-wise, Sengun does have the ability to develop a jump shot and even a three-point shot, but it will definitely take time for this to happen. Offensively, he is really known for making his presence felt on the low-post and the ability he possesses to take his time offensively is quite impressive.
The Charlotte Hornets are going to be looking for a center this offseason and while they may still target one in free agency, drafting Alperen Sengun and developing him over the next few years could be a fantastic move for Charlotte. He can rebound and score in the low-post, plus Sengun is able to make a difference defensively because of his high IQ as a frontcourt player.
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While they are definitely a team on the rise and ready to try and win games now, taking their time with a guy like Alperen Sengun is definitely advantageous to the Charlotte Hornets, especially since he can become a player like Domantas Sabonis or even someone like Al Horford.
Using his size to his advantage offensively and being able to make plays defensively is why Sengun finds himself as one of the top rated international players in this year’s draft and he is going to be able to make a difference wherever he ends up. In time, he could absolutely wind up being one of the best players from this year’s draft class.
