| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1932-09-17)17 September 1932 Istanbul, Turkey |
| Died | 1 November 2020(2020-11-01) (aged 88) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Darüşşafaka High School |
| Playing career | 1948–1957 |
| Coaching career | 1957–1974 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1948–1955 | Galatasaray |
| 1955–1956 | Racing Club Paris |
| 1956–1957 | Galatasaray |
Coaching | |
| 1957–1960 | Darüşşafaka S.K. |
| 1958–1960 | Beyoğluspor |
| 1960–1963 | İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi B.K. |
| 1964–1965 | Galatasaray |
| 1967–1968 | Galatasaray |
| 1971–1974 | Eczacıbaşı |
Yalçın Granit (17 September 1932 – 1 November 2020) was a Turkishbasketball player,coach andsports journalist.
He was born inIstanbul on 17 September 1932. Yalçın Granit, whose father died when he was a child, enteredDarüşşafaka High School, an institution for orphans only, in the sixth grade. He played football in the school team, though he was directed to playing basketball.[1][2]
At the age 17, he finished high school, and was transferred byGalatasaray Basketball through its club presidentAli Sami Yen. At the Galatasaray team, which was nicknamed "The invincible Armada" (Turkish:Yenilmez Armada), he played many years and served also as their captain.[2][3][4]
Following his graduation fromIstanbul University's Faculty of Natural Sciences as ageologist, he went to France to pursue his doctoral studies.[1] Granit joined the then world's-second-ranking teamRacing Club Paris (now defunct after the merging ofParis Racing Basket with another club to formParis-Levallois Basket in 2007) where he played briefly in the 1955–56 season, and was the first Turkish basketballer to play in a European team.[1][2][3][4][5]
The same year as he began to play for the Galatasaray team, he was admitted to theTurkey national basketball team.[2] He participated at the1952 Summer Olympics inHelsinki, Finland and atFIBA EuroBasket tournaments in1955 and1957.[6] He served for a long time as the national team's captain,[4] and capped 68 times in total.[1][2]
During all time at Galatasaray and the Turkish national team, he became the top scorer.[2]
In 1958 at the age of 26, Granit became the coach of his high school teamDarüşşafaka S.K., and led them in the 1959–60 to the championship title in theIstanbul Basketball League, their first and the only ever accomplishment. The team became runner-up in theTurkish Basketball League the same season. In the 1960–61 season, Darüşşafaka became Turkish champion with Granit as the head coach.[2] He served also as the coach of the national team, and was named the "Most Successful Coach".[1] In 1971, he was appointed byŞakir Eczacıbaşı technical director of the then-newly established basketball teamEczacıbaşı,[1] and contributed to their first-place finishing in the Turkish Basketball First League's Istanbul Division in three consecutive years.[7]
Granit presided over the basketball branch of the Galatasaray S.K. in 2002.[8] He was a sports journalist at the daily newspapersHürriyet (2003–2012) andHabertürk (2010).[2][5][9][10] He is known for his contribution to the establishment of the basketball branch at Darüşşafaka in 1951, and his continuous efforts in their development.[2]
Granit died on 1 November 2020. On 3 November, after funeral services atDarüşşafaka Ayhan Şahenk Sports Hall andTürk Telekom Stadium and prayers atZincirlikuyu Mosque, his body was buried in Kilyos Cemetery.[11]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
