Scottie Wilbekin Explained

Scottie Wilbekin
Position:Shooting guard / Point guard
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lbs:176
League:BSL
EuroLeague
Team:Fenerbahçe Beko
Number:3
Nationality:American / Turkish
Birth Date:April 5, 1993
Birth Place:Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
High School:The Rock School
(Gainesville, Florida)
College:Florida (2010–2014)
Draft Year:2014
Career Start:2014
Years1:2014–2015
Team1:Cairns Taipans
Years2:2015
Team2:AEK Athens
Years3:2015–2018
Team3:Darüşşafaka
Years4:2018–2022
Team4:Maccabi Tel Aviv
Years5:2022–present
Team5:Fenerbahçe Beko
Highlights:

Scottie Jordan Wilbekin (born April 5, 1993) is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2014. Wilbekin played professional basketball in Australia, Greece, Turkey and Israel. He led Darüşşafaka to win the 2018 EuroCup title, while earning the EuroCup Finals and the Regular Season MVP awards.

College career

After skipping his senior year at The Rock, Wilbekin accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Gators teams from 2010 to 2014. During his 2013–14 senior season, he led the Florida Gators to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championship and the SEC Tournament title, and he was named the SEC Player of the Year by the conference's coaches and the Associated Press.[1] [2] In addition, The Sporting News named him a third-team All-American.[3] With Wilbekin as the team's senior leader, the Gators advanced to the 2014 NCAA Final Four.

Professional career

Cairns Taipans (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Wilbekin joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the Orlando Summer League and the Philadelphia 76ers for the Las Vegas Summer League. On August 22, 2014, he signed with the Cairns Taipans for the 2014–15 NBL season.[4] On October 14, 2014, he was named Player of the Week for Round 1 after scoring 23 points against Adelaide on October 10 and 27 points against Melbourne on October 12.[5] On November 6, 2014, he was named Player of the Month for October after guiding the Taipans to a 6–0 unbeaten start to the season.[6]

On February 16, 2015, at the Taipans' annual awards night, Wilbekin was named the club Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player.[7] He and the Taipans went on to defeat the New Zealand Breakers in the final game of the regular season on February 22 to finish on top of the ladder for the first time in club history with a win–loss record of 21–7.[8] He was subsequently named Player of the Week for Round 20 after scoring 18 of his 25 points in the second half of the Taipans' 81–77 win over the Breakers which helped them secure the club's first ever minor premiership.[9] After sweeping the Perth Wildcats in the semi-finals, the Taipans faced the Breakers in the Grand Final series, going on to lose the series 2–0 following a game-winning shot by Ekene Ibekwe in Game 2.[10] Wilbekin appeared in all 32 games for the Taipans and averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.[11]

AEK (2015)

On March 12, 2015, Wilbekin signed with the Greek Basket League club AEK, for the rest of the 2014–15 Greek Basket League season.[12] In nine games with AEK, he averaged 8.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

Philadelphia 76ers (2015)

On June 30, 2015, Wilbekin joined the Orlando Magic white team for the Orlando Summer League.[13] On July 3, 2015, he re-signed with the Taipans for the 2015–16 NBL season.[14] Later that month however, after a stint with the Philadelphia 76ers at the Las Vegas Summer League,[15] Wilbekin opted out of his deal with the Taipans in order to sign in the NBA.[16] On July 24, 2015, he signed a four-year deal with the 76ers.[17] [18] However, he was later waived by the team on October 26 after appearing in five preseason games.[19]

Darüşşafaka (2015–2018)

On October 31, 2015, he signed with Darüşşafaka Doğuş of Turkey for the 2015–16 season, with the option to extend for one season.[20]

On March 28, 2017, Wilbekin signed a two-year contract extension with Darüşşafaka.[21] In his second season with Daçka, Wilbekin helped the team to reach the 2017 EuroLeague Playoffs as the eighth seed, but they eventually were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Quarterfinals.

On January 1, 2018, Wilbekin was named EuroCup Regular Season MVP.[22] On March 23, 2018, Wilbekin recorded a career-high 41 points by shooting 10-for-15 from three-point range – which is a EuroCup all-time records in both categories for a non-overtime game, and led Darüşşafaka to the 2018 EuroCup Finals after an 87–83 win over Bayern Munich.[23] On April 6, 2018, Wilbekin was named Eurocup MVP and earned a spot in the All-EuroCup First Team.[24] On April 13, 2018, Wilbekin led Darüşşafaka to win the 2018 EuroCup Championship after beating Lokomotiv Kuban in the Finals, where he averaged 26 points per game. He was subsequently named the EuroCup Finals MVP.[25]

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2018–2022)

On July 10, 2018, Wilbekin signed a two-year deal with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv of the EuroLeague.[26] On October 18, 2018, Wilbekin scored a EuroLeague career-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the field, along with five assists and four rebounds in a 78–68 win over Budućnost.[27] Two days later, Wilbekin was named EuroLeague Round 3 co-MVP, alongside Rodrigue Beaubois.[28] On January 20, 2019, Wilbekin recorded a season-high 36 points, shooting 7-of-15 from 3-point range, along with four assists and three steals in a 94–104 overtime loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv.[29] In the fourth quarter of that game, Wilbekin scored an Israeli League-record 25 points for a single quarter.[30] On February 7, 2019, Wilbekin recorded 17 points, including a game-winner shot with 4.4 seconds left in a 65–64 win over Olympiacos.[31]

On October 27, 2019, Wilbekin recorded 26 points, while shooting 6-of-7 from three-point range, including 13 points in 70 seconds during the third quarter, as he led Maccabi to an 89–73 win over Hapoel Jerusalem. Two days later, He was named Israeli League Round 4 MVP.[32] On December 23, 2019, Wilbekin recorded a season-high 35 points, along with nine assists and five rebounds in a 112–110 double overtime win over Hapoel Gilboa Galil.[33]

On January 29, 2020, Wilbekin signed a three-year contract extension with Maccabi.[34]

Fenerbahçe Beko (2022–present)

On June 26, 2022, Wilbekin signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi.[35]

National team career

On June 18, 2018, Wilbekin got a Turkish passport. He was subsequently named a member of the senior Turkish national basketball team, for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification games.[36] He made his debut with Turkey on June 28, 2018, scoring 13 points in a win over Ukraine.[37] In 2019, Wilbekin was a member of the senior men's Turkish national basketball team for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He played four games in the tournament, averaging 10.3 points, 6.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds, leading Turkey in assists per game.[38] His outings including a 9 point, 13 assist game against Montenegro in the teams 77–74 classification round win.[39] Turkey finished the tournament 22nd overall, after first round losses to United States and Czech Republic stopped them from progressing.[40] [41]

Personal life

Wilbekin's younger brother, Mitchell, played college basketball for Wake Forest University from 2014–2018; appearing in 119 games, starting 89, over his four-year career.[42] Scottie's other younger brother, Andrew, is currently attending Husson University in Maine.[43]

Career statistics

EuroLeague

Led the league

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015-16| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Darüşşafaka| 20 || 5 || 21.3 || .377 || .350 || .756 || 1.5 || 2.3 || 1.0 || .1 || 10.3 || 7.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2016-17| 31 || 17 || 25.2 || .430 || .404 || .870 || 1.8 || 3.2 || 1.4 || .0 || 11.6 || 11.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018-19| style="text-align:left;"rowspan="4"| Maccabi Tel Aviv| 29 || 29 || 24.8 || .397 || .328 || .800 || 1.8 || 3.1 || .9 || || 12.9 || 11.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019-20| 26 || 25 || 26.0 || .436 || .435 || .813 || 2.0 || 3.4 || 1.2 || .0 || 16.1 || 15.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020-21| 34 || 34 || 27.0 || .390 || .328 || .891 || 2.5 || 3.9|| 1.1 || .0 || 13.8 || 13.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021-22| 35 || 35 || 29.0 || .419 || .379 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|.941* || 2.1 || 4.1 || 1.5 || || 15.4 || 15.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022-23| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Fenerbahçe| 25 || 23 || 23.6 || .408 || .357 || .733 || 1.7 || 2.6 || 1.0 || .0 || 11.1 || 10.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023-24| style="background:#CFECEC;"|41* || 18 || 24.7 || .408 || .401 || .875 || 2.2 || 3.3 || 1.1 || .0 || 13.0 || 12.5|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 241 || 186 || 25.5 || .409 || .375 || .852 || 2.0 || 3.3 || 1.2 || .0 || 13.2 || 12.4

EuroCup

Denotes seasons in which Wilbekin won the EuroCup
Led the league

|-| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2017-18†| style="text-align:left;"| Darüşşafaka| 18 || 18 || 31.8 || .451 || .428 || .829 || 2.4 || 4.8 || 1.6 || 0 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|19.7* || style="background:#CFECEC;"|21.3*|-|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 18 || 18 || 31.8 || .451 || .428 || .829 || 2.4 || 4.8 || 1.6 || 0 || 19.7 || 21.3

Domestic leagues

YearTeamLeague
32 31.4 .391 .284 .835 3.7 4.3 1.1 .1 15.2
9 27.9 .466 .370 .667 2.3 3.9 .4 8.0
30 22.9 .425 .390 .874 1.7 2.7 1.0 12.9
26 27.2 .431 .393 .824 2.5 4.0 1.2 .0 13.1
27 30.1 .411 .393 .864 2.6 5.1 1.0 16.9
33 23.9 .432 .383 .829 2.4 3.8 1.2 13.7
27 25.3 .414 .390 .889 2.2 4.9 1.1 13.0
27 25.8 .443 .420 .845 2.4 3.9 1.1 16.4
30 28.3 .367 .330 .867 2.5 3.8 1.1 .0 13.4
27 24.0 .473 .473 .831 1.8 4.4 .9 .0 11.2
20 23.1 .486 .493 .878 1.8 4.0 .7 13.6

College

2010–11Florida37 1 17.1 .348 .283 .600 1.5 1.6 1.0 .0 2.4
2011–12Florida37 1 15.2 .434 .457 .714 1.5 1.6 .6 .1 2.6
2012–13Florida35 29 31.9 .453 .359 .725 2.9 5.0 1.5 .1 9.1
2013–14Florida34 33 33.8 .402 .390 .725 2.4 3.6 1.6 .0 13.1
Career143 65 24.2 .416 .376 .711 2.0 2.9 1.1 .1 6.6

External links

Notes and References

  1. 2014 SEC Men's Basketball Awards Announced . Southeastern Conference . March 11, 2014 . March 11, 2014.
  2. Wilbekin, Donovan, Randle take AP SEC honors . Associated Press . Sports Illustrated . March 17, 2014 . March 18, 2014.
  3. Web site: Sporting News' college basketball All-Americans for 2013-14. Sporting News. March 10, 2014. March 10, 2014. March 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140310202059/http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2014-03-10/sporting-news-college-basketball-all-americans-nick-johnson-jabari-parker/. dead.
  4. Web site: Scottie Wilbekin Signs With The Cairns Taipans. August 22, 2014. PickAndRoll.com.au. August 22, 2014. March 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160329040944/http://pickandroll.com.au/scottie-wilbekin-signs-cairns-taipans/. dead.
  5. Web site: R1 Player of the Week: Scottie Wilbekin . October 14, 2014 . NBL.com.au . October 14, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015095724/http://www.nbl.com.au/article/id/1bovaajmvn2uz1axyoakdqdt98 . October 15, 2014 .
  6. Web site: NBL Awards: October . November 6, 2014 . NBL.com.au . November 6, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141106135724/http://www.nbl.com.au/article/id/9usupe3t68i010jcqa5fy8ezw . November 6, 2014 .
  7. Web site: Wilbekin scoops awards at Taipans' night of nights . February 16, 2015 . Taipans.com . February 16, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150325113627/http://www.taipans.com/article/id/1cvkpai742au51ds05p3hsvtr8 . March 25, 2015 .
  8. Web site: R20 Report: Wilbekin leads Taipans to historic finish . February 22, 2015 . Taipans.com . February 22, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150304230153/http://www.taipans.com/article/id/1ogpfcpos11qe1g12lm6gmielq . March 4, 2015 .
  9. Web site: R20 Player of the Week: Scottie Wilbekin . February 25, 2015 . NBL.com.au . February 25, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150225084723/http://www.nbl.com.au/article/id/4cjwm7uj08ca1q2uqxd138r94 . February 25, 2015 .
  10. Web site: Grand Final Report: Ibekwe jumper wins Breakers the Championship . March 8, 2015 . NBL.com.au . March 8, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150311165633/http://www.nbl.com.au/article/id/19rxbkuuo4bp91tid253imw1id . March 11, 2015 .
  11. Web site: Player statistics for Scottie Wilbekin. FoxSportsPulse.com. October 31, 2015.
  12. Web site: Συμφωνία με Ουίλμπεκιν . March 12, 2015 . AEKBC.gr . March 12, 2015 . el . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094148/http://www.aekbc.gr/articles-86/sumfwnia-me-ouilmpekin.htm . April 2, 2015 .
  13. Orlando Magic Announce Rosters for Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.. June 30, 2015. July 14, 2015.
  14. News: Snakes secure Wilbekin for 15/16. Taipans.com. NBL.com.au. July 3, 2015. July 14, 2015.
  15. Web site: Can Florida standout Scottie Wilbekin latch on with Sixers?. Soboleski. Adam. CSN Philly. Comcast SportsNet. July 13, 2015. July 14, 2015.
  16. News: Wilbekin linked with Philadelphia 76ers. Taipans.com. NBL.com.au. July 22, 2015. July 22, 2015.
  17. Web site: Sixers Sign Scottie Wilbekin. NBA.com. July 24, 2015. July 24, 2015.
  18. Web site: Keith. Pompey. Sixers to sign Wilbekin. Philly.com. July 18, 2015. July 18, 2015.
  19. Web site: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS WAIVE FIVE. October 26, 2015. NBA.com. October 26, 2015.
  20. Web site: Scottie Wilbekin Darüşşafaka Doğuş'ta. October 31, 2015. Aksam.com. October 31, 2015. tr.
  21. Web site: Darussafaka Dogus signs Scottie Wilbekin to a two-year contract extension. March 28, 2017. Sportando.com. March 24, 2018.
  22. Web site: 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season MVP: Scottie Wilbekin, Darussafaka. https://web.archive.org/web/20180111135734/http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/8fsg8twa53fl7y4y. dead. January 11, 2018. January 1, 2018. eurocupbasketball.com. March 24, 2018.
  23. Web site: Wilbekin's historic night sends Darussafaka to finals!. March 23, 2018. eurocupbasketball.com. March 24, 2018.
  24. Web site: 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup MVP: Scottie Wilbekin, Darussafaka Istanbul. https://web.archive.org/web/20180407053335/http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/8nhba54rx47vbost/2017-18-7days-eurocup-mvp-scottie-wilbekin-darussafaka-istanbul. dead. April 7, 2018. April 6, 2018. April 6, 2018. eurocupbasketball.com.
  25. Web site: 2018 7DAYS EuroCup Finals MVP: Scottie Wilbekin, Darussafaka Istanbul. https://web.archive.org/web/20180414092237/http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/news/i/8o4gl5twsdx44rmg. dead. April 14, 2018. April 13, 2018. eurocupbasketball.com. April 14, 2018.
  26. Web site: Maccabi pens EuroCup MVP Wilbekin to multi-year deal. EuroLeague.net. July 10, 2018. July 10, 2018.
  27. Web site: Buducnost VOLI Podgorica vs. Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv - Game. October 18, 2018. EuroLeague.net. October 19, 2018.
  28. Web site: Round 3 co-MVPs: Scottie Wilbekin, Maccabi and Rodrigue Beaubois, Efes. October 20, 2018. EuroLeague.net. October 20, 2018.
  29. Web site: Winner League, Game 15: Hapoel TA Vs M. Tel-Aviv. January 20, 2019. basket.co.il. January 24, 2019.
  30. Web site: צפו: שיא ליגה היסטורי לווילבקין. January 23, 2019. basket.co.il. January 24, 2019. he.
  31. Web site: Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv vs. Olympiacos Piraeus - Game. EuroLeague.net. February 7, 2019. February 9, 2019.
  32. Web site: מצטיין המחזור הרביעי: סקוטי ווילבקין. October 29, 2019. basket.co.il. October 29, 2019. he.
  33. News: Winner League, Game 11: Gilboa Galil Vs M. Tel-Aviv. basket.co.il. December 23, 2019. December 23, 2019.
  34. News: Maccabi Tel Aviv signs Scottie Wilbekin to multi-year contract extension. Sportando. January 29, 2020. January 29, 2020.
  35. Web site: Scottie Wilbekin Fenerbahçe Beko'da - Fenerbahçe SK . 2022-06-26 . www.fenerbahce.org . tr.
  36. Web site: Scottie Wilbekin officially gets Turkish passport, named to Turkey's NT roster. June 18, 2018. Sportando.com. June 18, 2018.
  37. Web site: Turkey v Ukraine boxscore - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers 2019 - 28 June - FIBA.basketball. FIBA.basketball. September 18, 2018.
  38. Web site: Scott WILBEKIN Statistics. 5 November 2020. fiba.basketball.
  39. Web site: Turkey v Montenegro boxscore. fiba.basketball.
  40. Web site: 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final Standings. 5 November 2020. fiba.basketball.
  41. Web site: Turkey - Games and Results. 5 November 2020. fiba.basketball.
  42. Web site: Mitchell Wilbekin Bio - Wake Forest Men's Basketball. WakeForestSports.com. May 22, 2018. May 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180523010953/http://www.wakeforestsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/mitchell_wilbekin_900335.html. dead.
  43. Web site: Andrew Wilbekin - Husson Athletics. hussoneagles.com.