Galveston (SportsRadio 610)- Josh Christopher found himself in a pinch. His new Rockets teammate Alperen Sengun is from Turkey, and doesn't speak a lot of English, so he called his older brother Patrick, who played two seasons in Turkey.
"Dude, I need some Turkish so I can talk to Alpi," Josh told Patrick.
Patrick relayed the Turkish word for brother, and that's how Josh greets Sengun whenever he sees him.
"Alpi speaks English, but (I) try to hold as many conversations as I can with him, so he does advance in that, but I think over time, the brotherhood, the chemistry is gonna go crazy."
The Rockets will employ four 19-year old rookies this season, but for Christopher and Jalen Green, the transition will be a little easier living in their native country and speaking their native language, but that won't be the case for Sengun and Usman Garuba, who hail from the other side of the planet, and that hasn't been lost on Rockets head coach Stephen Silas.
"Being 19, coming from a completely different country into the NBA, it's hard enough as it is being a rookie in the NBA, adding the age and the cultural differences, it's a big deal. I think about that quite a bit."
Silas said Tuesday he's had Sengun over to his house for dinner, and he'll do the same with Garuba when the Rockets return to Houston from Galveston next week, but he also knows it will take more than the occasional dinner to make his international players feel at home.
"I'm not going to overwhelm them with like 'Hey, buddy,' but they need to know I'm there for them. I'm intentional about making sure I kind of touch all the guys. Those guys it's very important."
The Rockets added Barbara Turner to their player development staff this summer. Along with winning two national championships at Connecticut, Turner played three seasons in the WNBA and 15 seasons in Turkey. Along with her coaching duties, Turner served as Sengun's interpreter during Summer League.
"I feel like I'm home when I'm around her," Sengun said.
Sengun said he spent four weeks in Houston after Summer League ended in August, and the move to the Rockets and the United States has been easy.
"I come from a very young team in Turkey," he said through an interpreter."When I came here, I felt very similar environment. We hang out a lot we've been to Texas games, Astros games. We're trying to integrate into the city as much as I can."
In Daniel Theis and Dante Exum, the Rockets have two players who have made the shift to the NBA as an international player. Theis joined the Boston Celtics as a 25-year from Germany, but like Sengun and Garuba, Exum was 19 when he first joined the Utah Jazz after being selected fifth overall, so he's been in their shoes even though they have a little more to adjust to.
"I came over and I speak English," Exum said. "(Garuba) speaks a bit of English, he's pretty good at it, but (Sengun), he's got a translator with him, so it's a bit difficult for him."
Like Silas, Exum believes communication is key in helping to create comfort in a new situation.
"You just try and talk to them as much as possible to learn where they come from, how they got here. We all we all talk basketball, so once it gets on the court, it kind of flows."
