How Louisville women's basketball international players are adjusting to life on, off court

When going up for a shot at the rim during one of Louisville’s practices, Elif Istanbulluoglu airballed.

It was an abnormal occurrence for the 6-foot-3 forward, who averaged 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during Turkey’s U20 championship run. But the basketball Istanbulluoglu was playing with at the U of L practice was heavier than what she was used to.

The freshman has only been in the United States for two months. With the rules and procedures for women’s college basketball differing from what Istanbulluoglu has grown accustomed to over the last decade playing basketball internationally, there has been an adjustment period.

Fellow international freshman Eseosa Imafidon's journey to Louisville differs. Still, she is also learning the rules of the game. The Nigeria native has only been playing the sport for four years, getting her first experience after coming to the U.S. and attending Covenant Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire.

While Istanbulluoglu is waiting for clearance from the NCAA to play immediately, Imafidon will be redshirting and using the upcoming season at Louisville to acclimate to life on and off the court.

Coming to the United States to play basketball

Being at Louisville is surreal for Instanbulluoglu.

Playing college basketball in the U.S. wasn’t on her radar until the 2023 U20 European championship tournament over the summer.

“We were the only school to talk to her,” U of L head coach Jeff Walz said. “... I had the opportunity to see her play in the under-20 European championships and was just so impressed. I was like, hey, it's worth a phone call.”

Istanbulluoglu liked what she heard and was sold on Walz’s mentality and the Cardinals’ winning culture.

For Imafidon, leaving her home country to play basketball in the U.S. was something she had to be somewhat convinced into giving a chance. When the 6-foot-5 center was 16 years old, her father suggested she give the sport a try because of her height. Despite hating it at first, she participated in a basketball camp run by Access2Success, an organization which works “to provide sustainable programs that generate positive change for Nigerian children and their communities.”

After four months of playing, Imafidon was approached about an opportunity to receive a scholarship to play basketball in the U.S.

“At that time, I was 16. I didn't know anything,” she said. “I had to talk to my family and see if that was something that I could do. I talked my family, and they were like, yeah, if that's something you want to pursue, you should go ahead and do that.”

Coming to the U.S. in 2019, Imafidon attended Covenant Day School where she displayed natural ability — an automatic shot blocker in the paint who could collect layups against smaller defenders. According to Maxpreps, she averaged 3.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game during her sophomore season despite the Lions’ 7-19 record.

During her junior season, Imafidon earned National Christian School Athletic Association All-American honors after averaging 14.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. She spent final year of high school at Proctor Academy where she helped the team to a 14-7 league record.

For Istanbulluoglu, on-court adjustments have gone beyond playing with a heavier ball. She doesn’t have to play as quickly with a 30-second shot clock — six seconds more than she had in Turkey. She's also used to timeouts being limited to dead ball situations and was caught off guard when a timeout was called during live play.

“That was the weirdest thing for me,” she explained, “because I was like, we were just playing. Why did we stop?”

Adjusting to life off the court

Off the court, navigating food options the last couple of months has been complicated for Istanbulluoglu, who has Type 1 diabetes.

“Everything has sugar in it, or fat," she said. “I struggled to find good food for my body. But with the dietitians and that kind of stuff here, they’ve helped me a lot. I started to get the right foods for me.”

Her go-to option has been Chipotle.

The weather has been one of the hardest things for Imafidon to adjust to during her four years in the U.S. From Benin City, the fourth-largest city in Nigeria where temperatures are frequently in the triple digits, spending a winter in New Hampshire was a stark contrast.

Still very new to the country, Istanbulluoglu often gets homesick and wakes up early to talk to her family. Navigating the seven-hour time difference, she seeks advice from her sister, Sevval, who played high school girls basketball in Maryland before attending Siena College in New York.

“When I have a problem here, I can call my sister like, what am I gonna do with that? She helps me a lot,” Istanbulluoglu said.

Imafidon can relate to being homesick, Benin City is five hours ahead of Louisville.

But both players have found a support system in their U of L teammates as they navigate a new country and everything that comes with playing college basketball.

“They just comfort me and they're always next to me,” Istanbulluoglu said. “They got my back. I feel like this is my second family.”

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Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville women's basketball: International players adjust to change