Bucks Sign Ersan Ilyasova

August 23, 2005 - The Milwaukee Bucks have signed 2005 second round draft choice Ersan Ilyasova to a two-year contract, General Manager Larry Harris announced today. Terms of the deal were not announced in accordance with club policy.

“Ersan is a young, skilled player who we felt fortunate to select in the second round of the draft,” said Harris. “He has all the tools to be a productive NBA player, and he has been working hard this summer to get stronger physically. Ersan will benefit greatly from practicing and playing with the veteran players on our roster.”

Selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Ilyasova averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.5 minutes for Ulker in the Turkish League last season. In Euroleague competition in 2004-05, the 6-9, 235-lb forward averaged 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. He has been a member of the Turkish Junior National Team and the Turkish Cadets National Team, where they captured the silver medal at the 2003 European Cadets Championship.

In the 2005 Minnesota Summer League, Ilyasova appeared in all five games and averaged 3.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game. He finished second on the Bucks summer league squad in total rebounds behind only Andrew Bogut.