Hampton’s Luther enjoying life as pro
When Ryan Luther was asked if he learned to speak much of the Turkish language while spending most of the past year in Istanbul, Turkey, he laughed and said, “A little bit. I picked up some swear words.”
But you won’t hear Luther cuss about playing basketball in Turkey. That’s how he now makes a living and he swears his Turkey days are all good.
Luther is a former WPIAL star for the Hampton Talbots who played at Pitt and also the University of Arizona. Last month, Luther signed a contract to play his second season of pro basketball for a team in the Super Basketball League, the top tier pro league in Turkey. He took a 10-hour plane ride to Turkey on Saturday and will spend the next 10 months playing and practicing in the country.
The top league in Turkey is considered among the best in Europe, and Luther is fitting in well. He will play this year for Empera Hali Gaziantep in the city of Gaziantep, Turkey. Last season, he played for Darussafaka Basketball Club in Istanbul, but signed with Gaziantep “just because it was a better situation and a better contract,” Luther said.
Luther, 25, played his first season overseas in Latvia in 2019-20. So now, he is sort of the Turkish Talbot.
“I’m definitely happy,” Luther said. “Basically, my first year in Latvia was a good situation for the first year. Anyone overseas kind of has to build up their resume and work their way up. The year at Latvia helped me to get to the Turkish league. It’s good. There aren’t any official rankings, but the top league in Turkey is probably the second- or third-best league in Europe.”
The league in Turkey can be quite lucrative, too. No terms of Luther’s contract with Gaziantep have been released, but the web site loveatfirstfit.com gives general salary ranges for overseas leagues and the general salary for the Super Basketball League in Turkey can be anywhere from $ 250,000 to $450,000. But some make much more. The 16 teams in the Super League play about a 30-game regular-season schedule but some play 20-some more games in the Champions League against other teams from other countries.
“I’m nowhere near the top dogs in the league, but the top guys in the Turkish league can make a couple million a year,” Luther said.
Suffice it to say Luther is in six figures. His basketball statistics last year for a Darussafaka team that made the playoffs were 8.9 points a game and 5.6 rebounds, which was second best on the team. He is now 6 feet 8, 230 pounds and has versatility to his game. He shot 49% from the field overall this past season and 40% from 3-point range.
Luther was at his best in the final part of the season as Darussafaka made the league playoffs. In his final nine games, Luther averaged 12.9 points and shot 44% (15 of 34) from 3-point range. This came after he averaged 18 points a game in Latvia.
“I wouldn’t say I’m playing any differently than before,”
Luther said. “I’m still the same type of player, but I think at this level, you kind of have to know how to just play, first of all. And you have to play hard, be aggressive and confident in yourself. That’s what I’ve tried to work on. But I still basically play the ‘4’ (position), do a lot of pick and pop on offense — and rebound.”
Luther still lives at his family home in Hampton in the offseason. He has a twin brother, Colin, who he teamed with for a potent one-two combination at Hampton. Colin played in college at Elon and now lives in San Diego while working for PNC Bank. Their older brother, Bill, also was a standout player at Hampton and also lives in San Diego, working in medical sales.
“I loved Istanbul,” said Luther, who lived with four other Americans on his team. “It’s a huge city, really modern and nice. It’s on the water and there were malls, stores, restaurants all near us. It’s also a historical city. You can see some really cool stuff. It’s not the way I think an average American would picture Turkey. They treat Americans well. The Turkish people in general are really friendly and welcoming.”
Luther had an illustrious career at Hampton, scoring a school record 1,968 points and making the Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 twice. He signed with Pitt and never averaged more than five points a game in his first three seasons. Jamie Dixon was his first coach for two years and then Kevin Stallings for two years. Luther averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior at Pitt in 2017-18, but missed the final 22 games with a foot injury. He received a medical redshirt for a fifth year of eligibility, but decided to leave when Stallings was fired and Jeff Capel took over.
Luther transferred to Arizona to play for coach Sean Miller, a former Pitt player who played high school basketball at Blackhawk. Luther averagedeight points and four rebounds at Arizona.
“You always hear the term ‘go play overseas’ and I kind of knew I wanted to try it,” Luther said. “I really didn’t knowwhat it meant, but when I got done at Arizona coach Miller put me in contact with an agent and that’s when I got my first contract to play.”
Looking back, Luther said leaving Pitt for Arizona was one of the best moves for his career. But not so much for anything on the court.
“Personally, it was good just to move away from Pittsburgh and get in a different spot, get a different perspective and a different network of people,” Luther said. “I think I would’ve done fine if I stayed at Pitt. I loved it there and every coach — from coach Dixon, to coach Stallings and even coach Capel — treated me well and everyone was fair. But it was good just to have that different aspect with a different team on a different side of the country.
“The move might have challenged me a little more because it got me out of my comfort zone and what I was used to. It made me go all in, be more confident and aggressive.”
And it eventually led him to pro basketball — and Turkey days.