Tilton Duo Commits
There aren’t a whole lot of 6’9 lefties floating around in low major conferences who can post up, shoot the three, or beat their man off the dribble. Well there is about to be one more as Mehmet Sahan has committed to Sacred Heart University of the Northeast Conference.
This season the skilled big man received a significant amount of interest from programs in high and mid major conferences including the likes of Providence, West Virginia, and Richmond to name a few. But as his options decreased Sacred Heart emerged as the leader for his services and ultimately the Pioneers were able to seal the deal when Sahan signed a national letter of intent last week.
Sahan averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds this season for the Tilton School as he led them to the NEPSAC Class “B” Tournament. Last summer the Istanbul, Turkey native starred for the Turkish national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2007 European Championships.
At Sacred Heart Sahan will join a team that was moments away from their first ever NCAA tournament appearance this season before eventually falling to Central Connecticut by 4 points in the finals of the NEC Tournament. Despite the loss the Pioneers are a team who will likely be one of the conference’s best for years to come with a talented young core. Freshman guard, and Connecticut native, Chauncey Hardy was one of the leading candidates for the conference’s rookie of the year award while another freshman guard from Connecticut, Ryan Litke, was also a key contributor for a team that led the conference in three-point shooting at 38%.
In addition to Sahan, Sacred Heart will also welcome Cory Hassan to the floor next season. The New Hampshire native was forced to sit out this year following his transfer from Boston University. Sahan and Hassan should be two of the best young players in the conference, while also adding to the Pioneers potent long range attack. With the foursome of Hardy, Litke, Hassan, and Sahan leading the way Sacred Heart should be in position to challenge for the NEC title for years to come.
Can Ozkaner Commits to Le Moyne
While Mehmet Sahan committed to Sacred Heart last week, another Tilton product who originally hails from Turkey also made his college decision, as 6’5 point guard Can Ozkaner decided on Le Moyne College.
Can Ozkaner
Mehmet Sahan