Growing Up in Turkey

After being born in France, Efe moved to Istanbul while still an infant. Although his family carried an international background, Turkey quickly became home. His childhood was built around three pillars: family, education and basketball.

His mother, an English teacher and the founder of a private language school, believed that education, discipline and respect were essential. She personally invested countless hours helping Efe with his studies, and she expected him to perform well at school while remaining humble and grounded.

His father approached life differently but with the same objective. Rather than trying to build simply a talented basketball player, he wanted to help raise a resilient young man who understood that success is earned every single day.

One philosophy became part of Efe's childhood from a very early age: growth happens outside your comfort zone.

His father deliberately avoided letting him become too comfortable — not by making life difficult for the sake of it, but by constantly creating new challenges. Earlier mornings. Extra workouts. Additional shooting sessions. More repetitions. More discipline.

The objective was never to become better than other children. The objective was always to become better than yesterday.

Very early on, the family had an honest discussion about priorities. Education would always matter. Good grades would always be expected. Respect and curiosity would never be compromised.

But once it became clear that Efe possessed exceptional basketball potential, the family made a conscious decision: whenever genuine conflicts arose between basketball commitments and school activities, basketball would take priority. Not because education was unimportant, but because they believed opportunities like this are extremely rare, while excellence in school could still be maintained through discipline and hard work.

Efe embraced that responsibility. He consistently remained one of the strongest students in his classes. As he progressed through childhood he naturally changed schools several times — first through normal educational progression, later because basketball opportunities required new environments. Wherever he went, teachers remembered him not only for his academic results, but for his kindness, work ethic and positive influence on classmates. Many found it genuinely difficult to say goodbye when he moved on.

Basketball entered his life naturally. His older brother, Vangelis, who is ten years older, had started playing. Watching him train inspired Efe to pick up a basketball himself.

He began his basketball journey at Istanbul Basket, later continuing at Gök Burgaz, where winning youth championships was never the primary objective. Instead, coaches focused relentlessly on developing fundamentals — ball handling, footwork, shooting, passing, decision-making, creativity, basketball IQ. Those early years built the technical foundations that would remain with him throughout his career.

Another important part of his development was that coaches rarely allowed him to stay within his comfort zone. Instead of competing only against children his own age, Efe regularly played one, two and sometimes even three or four years above his age group. Competing against stronger, faster and more physically mature players forced him to think quicker, become more creative, and rely on skill rather than physical advantages. Looking back, the family believes those experiences accelerated his development enormously.

Efe also displayed exceptional athletic ability beyond basketball. He regularly performed very well in school athletics competitions, especially sprint events, often competing successfully against children who were older than he was.

One of the clearest demonstrations of his competitiveness came while representing Doğa College. The school basketball team consisted mostly of classmates and close friends — many of whom were actually football players rather than experienced basketball players. The team played with enthusiasm, friendship, and one remarkable young leader.

Competition rules allowed each player to participate in only three of the four eight-minute quarters, meaning Efe could play a maximum of 24 minutes. Opponents quickly learned who he was. Sometimes the coaching staff even changed his jersey number and kept him on the bench at the beginning of games so opposing teams would not immediately recognize him.

Frequently, the other team would build a comfortable lead. Then Efe entered the game. Everything changed. On several occasions he scored more points by himself than the opposing team managed during the entire game. One unforgettable performance saw him score 77 points in only 24 minutes — despite the fact that three-point shots counted only as regular field goals under the competition rules.

Those performances revealed much more than scoring ability. They revealed leadership. Competitiveness. Confidence. And an extraordinary desire to help his teammates succeed.

As his development continued, Efe earned the opportunity to join Anadolu Efes — one of Europe's most respected basketball academies. The club recruited many of Turkey's most talented young players from across the country, creating an exceptionally competitive environment. Training there accelerated Efe's development once again.

His family also noticed something unexpected. Because of his advanced technical level, Efe was frequently asked to demonstrate skills and drills for teammates during practice. While they appreciated the confidence coaches placed in him, they gradually realized that he needed an environment where he would continue learning, being challenged and expanding his own game every single day.

His father never claimed to be a basketball coach. His role was simply that of a father — creating opportunities, driving to training, rebounding after workouts, encouraging discipline, supporting difficult decisions. The coaching belonged to outstanding coaches and skills trainers throughout Efe's journey. The commitment belonged entirely to Efe.

Having watched thousands of youth basketball games over many years — both in person and on video — and having spent countless hours inside gyms before and after practices, his father reached one simple conclusion: very few young players were willing to work with the consistency, discipline and enthusiasm that Efe demonstrated every single day. What impressed him most was never the talent itself. It was the willingness to continue working long after others had gone home.

Over time, something remarkable happened. Instead of his father waking him for early-morning workouts, Efe became the one knocking on his father's door before sunrise. Training had stopped being an obligation. It had become part of who he was.

That relentless consistency eventually led the family to one of the biggest decisions of Efe's young life. If the objective was to become the best player he could possibly become, the next step was clear.

The United States. A new country. A new language. A new culture. And a completely different approach to basketball development.