He graduated from the German High School in Istanbul and studied engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara.
[2] He became interested in basketball as a teenager with the support of his uncle, former national team player and Galatasaray President Prof. Dr. Ali Uras.
[3] His professional basketball career spanned 13 years, most of which he spent with Istanbul-based club Galatasaray.
It won silver at the 2010 World Championship, losing in the finals to the United States in the largest sporting event ever hosted on Turkish soil.
Following Turkey's success in the World Championship, Demirel was named Sportsman of the Year by the Sedat Simavi Journalists’ Association, Okan University,[10] and Milliyet Newspaper,[11] among others.
Women's basketball in Turkey, which did not have a national team from 1968–1988, has also seen impressive growth and development under Demirel's watch.
In 2012 the Turkish Basketball Federation launched a new strategic plan "Project Powerhouse" which was described by FIBA as an "impressive and dynamic strategy" that has "left nobody in any doubts as to where they [TBF] are heading in the next few years.
"My aim is to help make basketball the fastest growing sport in Europe, through support of all 51 member federations, strong club competitions and the development of a new generation of stars," Demirel said in his pre-election presentation.
"A strong FIBA Europe should help all federations develop young talent as this is the cornerstone for the advancement of our sport.