One of the biggest surprises this season in Europe has been Turkish side Turk Telekom, who have reeled off seven straight victories in the EuroCup and are perched atop their domestic league with a 14-1 record.

Ercument Sunter's team lost at Panionios back on November 11 and have been unblemished in Europe since, a streak that includes a home victory against the Greeks in late November and a 71-68 win in Athens on Tuesday.

And Turk Telekom's only loss in Turkey came just before Christmas when they fell at another EuroCup side, Banvitspor.

Sunter's men showed they're in the running for the Turkish title for good last weekend as they went to Istanbul and beat Fenerbahce 74-71 in a top-of-the-table clash of 13-1 teams.

Leading the way in that battle was Turk Telekom power forward Erwin Dudley, who scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

For the season he's averaging 16.3 points and 9.6 rebounds, including six double-doubles.

		Along with Dudley, Derrick Alston has provided Türk Telekom with some much needed veteran leadership

The 25-year-old Alabama native and Crimson Tide alum has been the team's main weapon, averaging 22 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assist and 0.9 blocks per game in the EuroCup.

He spoke to PA Sport's David Hein on behalf of FIBA Europe.

FIBA Europe: Erwin, the team started the EuroCup campaign with a loss in Greece to Panionios. Looking back on that game, what happened?

Dudley: "It was the first game, and we didn't know what to expect. It was a different environment and a different gym. And for some guys it was their first taste of European ball. We were looking for calls from the refs and didn't play basketball like we were supposed to. After that game, we realised what we needed to do and have just been playing basketball."

FIBA Europe: What kind of things did you need to change up?

Dudley: "Everybody needed to just step up their game play, get rebounds and hustle."

FIBA Europe: The club has gone on a winning streak since that game. Which contest set the tone for the rest of the season so far, would you say?

Dudley: "We came back home and then played against Sofia. We just played basketball and got used to the style of play and which calls would be called and just played."

FIBA Europe: "In addition to seven straight EuroCup victories, the team has run off to a 14-1 record in Turkey. What's different from last season when you finished fifth in the league?"

Dudley: "We started off good last year. But we lost the critical games we needed to win. We have won them this year. Last year we played hard but didn't have enough firepower to finish them off. We brought in some veteran guys like Derrick Alston and Igor Milicic and some versatile Turkish players who could score and that helped us a lot as well."

FIBA Europe Turkish clubs are allowed to have four foreigners. That's a bit different that other leagues in Europe. What are your thoughts on that?

Dudley: "I think it helps the league be more competitive. And it brings more talent into the league. It's more competitive because one or two teams can't bring in a bunch of foreigners and dominate the league. So it's good."

FIBA Europe: Such was probably the case more in Israel, where you played for Rishon Le Zion in 2004-05 before coming to Turkey.

Dudley: "I think that was the difference. Teams who could bring in the players dominated the league because the other clubs didn't have the money to compete."
 
FIBA Europe: What was it like playing in Israel?

Dudley: "It was good. It was my first year playing professionally. It was quite an experience for me - wonderful. I saw things I would have never seen. A lot of people get the wrong idea of Israel. I never feared for my life. And I really enjoyed it. I had family and friends come over and they liked it, too."

FIBA Europe: "Have you had any players approach you and ask what it's like to play there?

Dudley: "I've had a lot of guys come to me and ask how it is to play there. And I tell them: `Go and you'll like it.' One good thing is that the social life was very good. And everything is in English. And you can get around easy because it's not as big as other countries. Being there helped me adapt, too, because I could go anywhere and everyone spoke English. So I didn't have a lot of things to worry about. And the restaurants were great."

FIBA Europe: I wanted to ask you about your team-mate Jan Jagla, who's consider one of Germany's future stars, especially for the time after Dirk Nowitzki retires from the national team. How is Jan's game coming along?

Dudley: "He's a very versatile guy - a seven-footer who can step out and shoot the ball. Not a lot of guys his size can shoot outside like him. And that's one of the reasons he's our secret weapon. A lot of opponents are surprised by him. They don't think he can shoot the ball that well. He has the potential definitely to play in the NBA. Look at what he can do. Look at Dirk's game, it's about the same. Dirk's a little bit bigger mass wise. But Jan has great potential."

FIBA Europe: Okay, let's talk a bit about goals now. What are Turk Telekom's goals? Can they win the league crown?

Dudley: "We just have a good team to play basketball, and we've been playing ball really well. We just need to continue playing the way we have and the sky's the limit for us."

FIBA Europe: And what about in the EuroCup?

Dudley: "We want to compete for a championship. We want to go as far as we can and win as many games as we can."