Yalçın Granit (17 September 1932 – 1 November 2020) was a Turkish

basketball player Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

Biography

He was born in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 17 September 1932. Yalçın Granit, whose father died when he was a child, entered

Darüşşafaka High School Darüşşafaka High School () is a boarding, coeducational school in Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey, established in 1863. It was founded by the Darüşşafaka Society, recognized as Turkey's first civil society organization in the field of education. T ...

, an institution for orphans only, in the sixth grade. He played football in the school team, though he was directed to playing basketball. At the age 17, he finished high school, and was transferred by

Galatasaray Basketball Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

through its club president

Ali Sami Yen Ali Sami Yen, born Ali Sami Frashëri (20 May 1886 – 29 July 1951) was an Albanian-Turkish sports official best known as the founder of the Galatasaray SK, Galatasaray Sports Club. Life Ali Sami Yen was born in Üsküdar, Constantinople v ...

. At the Galatasaray team, which was nicknamed "The invincible Armada" (), he played many years and served also as their captain. Following his graduation from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

's Faculty of Natural Sciences as a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

, he went to France to pursue his doctoral studies. Granit joined the then world's-second-ranking team Racing Club Paris (now defunct after the merging of Paris Racing Basket with another club to form

Paris-Levallois Basket Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 2007 ...

in 2007) where he played briefly in the 1955–56 season, and was the first Turkish basketballer to play in a European team. The same year as he began to play for the Galatasaray team, he was admitted to the

Turkey national basketball team The Turkey men's national basketball team () represents Turkey in international basketball tournaments. They are governed by the Turkish Basketball Federation. Their nickname is the ''12 Dev Adam'', meaning 12 Giant Men. Turkey has competed a ...

. He participated at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland and at

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

tournaments in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

. He served for a long time as the national team's captain, and capped 68 times in total. During all time at Galatasaray and the Turkish national team, he became the top scorer. In 1958 at the age of 26, Granit became the coach of his high school team Darüşşafaka S.K., and led them in the 1959–60 to the championship title in the

Istanbul Basketball League The Istanbul Basketball League ( Turkish: ''İstanbul Basketbol Ligi'') was a regional basketball league competition in Turkey, that was run by the Turkish Basketball Federation from 1926 to 1966. The league lost its first level status after the n ...

, their first and the only ever accomplishment. The team became runner-up in the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

the same season. In the 1960–61 season, Darüşşafaka became Turkish champion with Granit as the head coach. He served also as the coach of the national team, and was named the "Most Successful Coach". In 1971, he was appointed by

Şakir Eczacıbaşı Şakir Eczacıbaşı (3 December 1929 – 24 January 2010), a second generation member of the notable Turkish Eczacıbaşı family, was a pharmacist, photographer and businessman. He was awarded with the Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des ...

technical director of the then-newly established basketball team

Eczacıbaşı Eczacıbaşı Holding is a Turkish industrial group of companies founded in 1942. As of 2023, the Group's 50 companies employ more than 13,500 people, operate 40 production plants, and generate a combined net turnover of TL 33 billion. Group E ...

, and contributed to their first-place finishing in the Turkish Basketball First League's Istanbul Division in three consecutive years. Granit presided over the basketball branch of the Galatasaray S.K. in 2002. He was a sports journalist at the daily newspapers ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'' (2003–2012) and ''

Habertürk ''Habertürk'' (), abbreviated as ''HT'', was a high-circulation Turkish newspaper. It was established on 1 March 2009 by Ciner Media Group, drawing on the brand of Ciner's Habertürk TV. It ceased publication on 5 July 2018. The newspaper s ...

'' (2010). He is known for his contribution to the establishment of the basketball branch at Darüşşafaka in 1951, and his continuous efforts in their development. Granit died on 1 November 2020. On 3 November, after funeral services at

Darüşşafaka Ayhan Şahenk Sports Hall Darüşşafaka Ayhan Şahenk Sports Hall (Turkish language, Turkish: Darüşşafaka Ayhan Şahenk Spor Salonu) is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located in Istanbul, Turkey. The arena is mostly used to host basketball games, but can also be ...

and Türk Telekom Stadium and prayers at Zincirlikuyu Mosque, his body was buried in Kilyos Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granit, Yalcin 1932 births 2020 deaths Basketball coaches of international teams Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Basketbol Süper Ligi head coaches Darüşşafaka Basketbol coaches Eczacıbaşı S.K. (men's basketball) coaches Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) coaches Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Habertürk people Hürriyet people İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi B.K. coaches Olympic basketball players for Turkey Paris Racing Basket players Basketball players from Istanbul Turkey men's national basketball team coaches Turkish basketball coaches Turkish expatriate basketball people in France Turkish geologists Turkish men's basketball players Turkish sports journalists 20th-century Turkish sportsmen