# Young Greek NBA Prospects



## GreekStyler

Can people please comment on the following greek prospects and their chances of making it to the NBA:

1) Christos Tapoutos
2) Nikos Zisis
3) Costas Vassiliadis
4) Haris Markopoulos
5) Vassilis Spanoulis
6) Stratos Perperoglou
7) Andreas Gliniadakis

Also, i have heard that Sophocles Schortsianitis has a younger brother Alex who playes Shooting guard with the recent Greek Cadets team. Any comments on him??..Anyone seen him play???

ThankYou. Please post your comments


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## suspect

Ouch that were a lot of players!!!!  
Anyway I will start with Tapoutos
With Kakiouzis gone he is playing much better and is averaging about 12 ppg...He strenghts is his athleticism...He is one of few European players that has the ability to play way above the rim...
He likes to play a run and gun bball and is fantastic in the open court.....
He still needs a lot of work to do though...He needs to improve his 3 point shooting badly (he is shooting like what 29%).......And put on muscles... At least his defence has improved some)......I dunno if he will get drafted next year...
Spanoulis has a good chance of making it IMO in 2-3 years...Beno Udrih and M. Popovic are NOT better than him and the fact that he is a pure PG (most PG's nowaday are playing a bit like SG's), speedy and that he plays D will help him....

Another intresting prospect is Spiros Magounis (of AEK)....I have never seen him play but apparently the NBA scouts at Barcelona liked him a lot and some even called him one of the best NBA sf- prospect around at his age....

I don't think Perperoglou is an NBA prospect.. It's too early to say about Vasiliadis (too many ups and downs)...Markopoulos is probably finished...Zisis and Gliniadakis are not NBA material IMO..

Anyway right now the only ones that can play in the NBA are Schortsianitis and Fotsis (even though the fact that Obradovic plays him PF and C has hurt him a lot) 

Sorry for the long message


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> Can people please comment on the following greek prospects and their chances of making it to the NBA:
> 
> 1) Christos Tapoutos
> 2) Nikos Zisis
> 3) Costas Vassiliadis
> 4) Haris Markopoulos
> 5) Vassilis Spanoulis
> 6) Stratos Perperoglou
> 7) Andreas Gliniadakis
> 
> Also, i have heard that Sophocles Schortsianitis has a younger brother Alex who playes Shooting guard with the recent Greek Cadets team. Any comments on him??..Anyone seen him play???
> 
> ThankYou. Please post your comments


I agree with almost everything suspect said but I think I should add a few things myself.
Tapoutos is a good player but I dunno, he reminds me a lot of Papanikolaou. He doesn't seem like a player that will improve a lot in his career. What makes him an interesting prospect is his leadership skills. Other than that I'm sure there are other players in the draft that are better than him.
Zisis is a goo dplayer and he works hard, but the attempts to turn him into a PG have failed. Now his coach is using him at the 2, which is his normal position but playing there won't give him the chance to become an NBA player.
I like Vasiliadis. I think he has great potential but he's still young and has ups and downs. But he's nowhere near Diamantopoulos' level.
Markopoulos has had a lot of injuries. 
Perperoglou and Gliniadakis, I agree with what suspect said.
Spanoulis is an interesting prospect, but he needs some time as well. But he's on the same level with some euro PG's that are in the draft.
Anyway this is my list with greek players that could be in the NBA.

1. Dikoudis
2. Schortsianitis
3. Diamantidis
4. Fotsis
5. Diamantopoulos


Yes Sofoklis Schortsianitis does have a younger brother who is a guard.
He's still young (I think he's 15) and I've only seen pictures I haven't seen him play. But he does have the same haircut his brother has lol


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## WonderPelekanos

Will Tapoutos improve his technical skills? This is the great question... I have some doubts about that, he's not so young (already 21 years old) and I can't see a natural talent in this player, who is absolutely a crack at an athletic level. 

Diamantopoulos is already 23 years old, and unfortunately he never had the possibility to compare himself with the best European players, playing in a little team like Panionios and missing some rendez-vous with the NT due to injuries (EuroBasket2001). He has his occasion this summer in Sweden, let's hope he won't fail it... and let's hope he will never have the occasion to work with Zelimir Obradovic.

Ntikoudis could have a chance in the States. What will he desire? To remain in Europe as a number one (Real Madrid wants him, to restart) or to look for 10-20 minutes of quality in the NBA? 

Vasileiadis is really interesting, 200 cm. (6-7), shooting guard. He had great games this season, and others in which he collapsed. Normal for a so young player: maybe he won't be able to play in the States, but he has the possibilities to become an important player in Europe. Hoping he won't be simply a new Vuksevic...

Magounis... 1985, but he has scored 1 point in his career in A1 with AEK. I guess that when you're 18 years old you should have already shown something at a senior level. A supremacy with players of the same age means nothing, look at the Greek players who got the Junior World Championship in 1995: no-one of them is now a top-player. Next season will be decisive for him, or his destiny will be another "turnover" for the Hellenic basketball. 

Last thing: I've heard, from "direct sources" that Pelekanos could be drafted at the end of the 2nd round. I don't think he will never play in the NBA, but it's a satisfaction to have the eyes of the best league in the world down you...


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## qwertyu

Dikoudis had said last summer that he would go to the NBA even without a guaranteed contract, because he feels confident enough that he will get a spot on an NBA team. He seems to want it really badly, but I don't know if he has changed his mind at all since last summer.
Vasiliadis isn't really 2 metres tall, he's closer to 1.97 ( 6-6) and I think he's already better than Vuckcevic. He plays with a lot of passion, I always enjoy watching him play. 
I also like another player from PAOK, Vasilopoulos who is 2.02cm tall ( 6-8) and is very athletic. He could be an excellent SF in a few years but right now he plays mostly at the 4 because his team doesn't have a lot of depth up front.

The fact that Magounis hasn't gotten any playing time in A1 doesn't mean anything. Sometimes some coaches don't pay much attention to some players. 

A player I like very much who plays for AEK is Adic. He's like 17 or 18 years old and I think he is the next Nowitzki (I'm not kidding, he's THAT good).


I'd be very happy to see a guy like Pelekanos being drafted. I really like him as a player and I think he has a lot of potential.


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## qwertyu

Oh I'm sorry. Pero Antic is actually 21 years old.

http://www.eurobasket.com/GREplayer.asp?PlayerID=30261

Anyway, I still think he's a good player and I think he could be a draft pick next year, especially if Dikoudis and Betts leave the team.


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## suspect

Pero Antic is born 1984 and not 1982 as eurobasket.com say.
http://www.aek.com/basketball/roster/petar_antik.htm


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## qwertyu

What do you think about Andic suspect? Doesn't he play like Nowitzki sometimes. And I'm glad you corrected me, because I was sure he wasn't 21 years old.


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## GreekStyler

Isn't Pero Antic Macedonian and not a Greek Prospect???


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## GreekStyler

Also wat about the prospects of manolis papamakrios of peristeri??


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## GreekStyler

Also 1 more question, i just read a post saying sofokles is "just a big bruiser with no skill". How accurate is this???..does sofokles have the footwork, size and speed or skill to make it in the nba. Those that have actually seen him play on TV please can you provide an accurate description of him and his potential. Does he have any low post moves???, can he hit close range jumpers?? etc

Thanks


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## SEOK

First thing: Antic comes from F.Y.R.O.M. and not from Macedonia. In this case he would be a citizen of Thessaloniki, or Kozani, or Alexandreia... and he has the Greek citizenship. 

Papamakarios is playing a very good season with Peristeri, he's an interesting playmaker who's adding brain and brain to his gamestyle. 
He started beeing the substitute of Byron Dinkins (good teacher, I guess. Unfortunately he sells games) two years ago; last season he added minutes and on Summer he received too a call from Ioannid Ioannidis and played with the Greek NT in the tournament of Alassio, Italy. This year he exploded, playing both pg and sg (with Kurtovic): he has won some games alone, he has a very good nature, he's absolutely a leader on court, and "basketballistically" is a precious player. Very good on the defensive side (most of man-to-man against the other pg), he understands well the game and does always the right thing at the right moment. Very good three-pointer. 
He's absolutely a big surprise: I would have not bet one euro on him two years ago, and now he's a very interesting point guard at national level (and after the injury of Abbio Pamesa Valencia was interested on him). Unfortunately he's a little bit undersized (185 cm. say the guides, but he's about 178-180 cm.) to become dangerous at international level.


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## qwertyu

SEOK are you sure about Papamakarios height? He looks much taller.

Anyway, Antic is from Scopje.

I'm tired of describing Schortsianitis' game to everyone.
If you want to learn more about him search some other threads.


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## GreekStyler

Qwertyu u say the following about Sofokles "I've been watching Sofoklis all year and I can't help but notice the improvement he has made in every aspect of his game.
He might not have the height of a top center, but I'm confident now that he has everything that is required to become a good player in the NBA.
He has the work-ethic and the skills and the last two weeks he has been scoring 15 points and grabbing 8 rebounds on a constant basis.
I know there will be a lot of doubters, but from what I've seen I think he will surprise a lot of teams when the private work-outs begin."

2 questions for Qweryu since u seen Sofokles play over the last 2 weeks:

1) Does the kid look 6'10" with shoes??? Wat is his wingspan roughly??
2) Why does he not register many blocks??..either he is lacking footwork or is just slow....
3) Does he have shooting touch from close range??

Your responce will be much appreciated


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## SEOK

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> SEOK are you sure about Papamakarios height? He looks much taller.


Pretty sure. Considering that Ford is in reality 185 cm. (I've met him the day before Skipper Bologna - Montepaschi Siena), Pamakarios can't be more than 182 cm. I think 180. 

About Shortsianitis, I've some doubts he's even 205 cm, "6-10" seems absolutely impossible.


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> 
> 
> 2 questions for Qweryu since u seen Sofokles play over the last 2 weeks:
> 
> 1) Does the kid look 6'10" with shoes??? Wat is his wingspan roughly??
> 2) Why does he not register many blocks??..either he is lacking footwork or is just slow....
> 3) Does he have shooting touch from close range??
> 
> Your responce will be much appreciated


1) I'm not very sure about Schortsianitis height. But the truth is that he's not very tall. I was watching him against Kouvaris of Iraklio who is a legit 7-footer and he looked a lot shorter than him.
2) About the blocks, I don't know.. he probably doesn't have long hands. Another answer might be that he doesn't have the right timing. He usually pushes players out of the paint with his strength. He likes to play defense and to rebound but I've never seen him jump in order to block a shot. But usually the players he guards don't try to shoot because his defense is very physical and it makes it difficult for them to keep the ball for too long.
3) He has no shooting touch. He only dunks and scores from inside the paint. But he's a good free throw shooter so I guess he can shoot, he just hasn't been given the opportunity to become an outside shooter.


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## qwertyu

wow Ford of Siena is 1.85m? I thought he was shorter hehe


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## qwertyu

Anyway I was watching the game today between Iraklis and Paok and Sofoklis seems to have grown (which is very normal for a kid of his age.
I also saw him for the first time score some baskets from outside the paint which shows that he has improved a lot.
I didn't watch the whole game because I didn't have time, but after seeing him play the way he played tonight I will be shocked if he's not a lottery pick.


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## GreekStyler

sofokles in 14:12 of time had 8 pts (4/8 fg) and 5 rebounds...which is not bad considering he only played limited minutes. Any idea why he played so little??..foul trouble??


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## suspect

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> Anyway I was watching the game today between Iraklis and Paok and Sofoklis seems to have grown (which is very normal for a kid of his age.
> I also saw him for the first time score some baskets from outside the paint which shows that he has improved a lot.
> I didn't watch the whole game because I didn't have time, but after seeing him play the way he played tonight I will be shocked if he's not a lottery pick.


I watched the whole game.....Sofoklis seems indeed to have grown (i taped the game just to check out his height).........The thing is that he slouches a lot (when running the court and playing D).. however when he had his back straight up he looked pretty big (he is clearly above 6-8 as some people say)....
Indeed he seems to have been working on his jumper.... I noticed during halftime that he was working a lot on it.......
He has shown tremendous improvement thoughout the year...
And to Greekstyler he didn't play more because he got injured (nothing serious though it will not affect his draft status)....... I will be surprised if he is not a lottery pick.... Right now he is probably even better than Darko....And I'm sure he's gonna work hard in order to succeed.......
By the way it's scary that someone that young can have a bodystructure like that......He's got to be in the NT in Sweden.... just imagine he will scare the **** out of the opponents....


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## GreekStyler

I am happy to hear that!..Greek basketball does need a superstar.


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## GreekStyler

Just wondering guys....does Kostas Kaimakoglou of Near East, team mate of Sofokles in the Junior Greek Team have any potential to be a good European player??


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## SEOK

He has the potential to become the new Kostas Maglos... 5 cm shorter than the former player of Panionios


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## GreekStyler

Other than Sofokles, who are the top 3 under 22 center prospects in Greece??..Do we have any other good 7 foot centers like Jake coming through that could make an impact in Greece or Europe???


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## SEOK

Actually there are not interesting tall players. The U20 NT that got the EC in Lithuania last summer had as 5 Kaimakoglou who is not interesting at an international level (and not even at a high national level). 
The future has to be Shortsianitis, and we should start to admit the fact the "Tsakalidis" is absolutely a... Ledkov, and he will never help the Hellenic NT and the Hellenic basketball in general. 

I've seen in a summer tournament the young center of AEK, Giannoulakas (if this is his name, I don't remember actually). He's 2m15-2m18 (7-1/7-2), veeeeeeeeeery tall, but my grandama's cat is much more talented than him (you should see what this stupid animal does with a little ball, he goes to make some impressive tap-in in a pure Tracy McGrady style. And he's a great goal-keeper too).


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## GreekStyler

Does Giorgos Diamandopoulos have any plans to play in the nba?? I think he has an nba game and can flat out score and can help many nba teams with his natural scoring ability.


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## Reznor

I saw Magounis in Barcelona, play in the Junior tournoment and win both MVP and best scorer. in the first game he was one rebound short of a triple double (35 pts, 10 steals, 9 rebounds). amazed everyone.

he's a real talent. I don't see him as a PG, certainly not a pure PG, Udrih and Planinic are much more pure PG than him, but he's not a scoring machine like Marko Popovic either. he can so many things on court... 

One more tournoment like that, and he can be easily drafted.


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## suspect

Hey Reznor!!! 
I think you mixed up Spanoulis with Magounis...
Vasilis Spanoulis is a pure PG and we were comparing him to Popovic and Udrih (he is just as good as they are if not better)....
Spiros Magounis is a SG-SF.......
Anyway I haven't seen him play can you give some more info on him.... like strengths and weaknesses.....I hope we will give him playing time next year (we=AEK)


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## Reznor

Ah, sorry. 
I mis-read what some1 posted b4. sorry....

Magounis is SG/SF indeed. very smart player in my opinion. He has alot of things to display on offense. penetrations, outside shoot (although he's still not a gr8 3 point shooter...) very good fast break finisher. very athletic, and if i'm not wrong he can go both left and right. 

in the first game he had 35 pts with only 2 misses from 2FG (15/17 or so), but.. it was vs. CSKA, and if u think the senior Russian teams play a mess... u haven't seen the juniors. they make so many turnovers...he used that to steal 10 balls, and I think 9 of them became easy 2 points. in the other 2 games he stole maybe 2 more times... but he is a very good player... 

he needs to work on his outside shot. I didn't see him nail 3 pointers like there's no tomorrow, and sometimes he missed some open shots from downtown. there's still time, he's young, but he must develop a more deadly hand from 3. 

Dusan Sakota, son of...is also a big prospect. 208 and only born in 1986. he can become a very good player. quick, athletic, runs the floor very well for his size. he's just a little *****... afraid to penetrate and to fight.


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## alister

Hi Reznor! As you watched the tournament, which other players impressed you? It would be great if you could tell us about 1-2 players from every NT.And could you discribe me some more of Dusan Sakota? About 3-4 years ago I read in a greek sport newspaper(Protathlitis) for first time about him(you imagine he was 13-14 years old) and they told that he has an incredible vertical and that he was a great talent. What style of player is he and with who would you compare him either from Europe or NBA?
And guys has anybody found any stats about this tournament yet?


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## GreekStyler

Any idea when sofo will be coming to the US for his pre - draft workouts???


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## qwertyu

I know that he had invitations for a private work-out from 10 teams from 10 teams.
I think he will start working out for NBA teams in June.


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>SEOK</b>!
> , and we should start to admit the fact the "Tsakalidis" is absolutely a... Ledkov, and he will never help the Hellenic NT and the Hellenic basketball in general.


Well, I just wanted to say that Tsakalidis is coming to Greece tomorrow and he's going to join the greek army. So he will probably be on the team that will go to Sweden for the Eurobasket.


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## bender

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> Also, i have heard that Sophocles Schortsianitis has a younger brother Alex who playes Shooting guard with the recent Greek Cadets team. Any comments on him??


As far as I know, his brother is only 9 yrs old. Are there national teams for 3rd-graders in Greece?


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## suspect

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> 
> 
> Well, I just wanted to say that Tsakalidis is coming to Greece tomorrow and he's going to join the greek army. So he will probably be on the team that will go to Sweden for the Eurobasket.


Damn!!!:devil: :devil: :devil: 
I didn't wan't him to be in the NT.........

This means that the NT will be 100% likely be like this:
C Tsakalidis, Rentzias
PF Dikoudis, Tsartsaris
SF Fotsis, Kakiouzis, Alvertis
SG Diamantopoulos, Sigalas, Hatzivrettas
PG Papaloukas, Diamantidis
Personally i would replace papaloukas with Spanoulis, Alvertis with Kommatos, and Sigalas with Vasiliadis (just to be there and learn), Tsartsaris with Pavlidis and Renzias (he's too soft doesn't rebound and doesn't play D) with Schortsianitis


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## GreekStyler

Sofo's brother plays for the Greek Cadette team. He is a 6'4" shooting guard. Don't know anything else about him. Anyone got any insights???


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## GreekStyler

Has the Greek Junior World Championship team been named???...If so when and what do u think the team will be???


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## qwertyu

You mean the team that will play in the World Championship in Thesaloniki?

Most likely Schortsianitis will be on the team, especially now that Tsakalidis has returned to the men's team. I know that Vasiliadis and Vasilopoulos from PAOK are members of the team too. Don't remember who else is.

Anyway I hope the other teams bring their top players to the Champioship like Milicic, Lampe, Podkolzin, Splitter etc. and hopefully the American team would bring players like LeBron (I can dream can't I?), Carmelo or Bosh. It could be very much like the World Championship in Athens in '95 when the american team had players like Marbury and Vince Carter.


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## suspect

Actually Milicic can't play in the Under 18 World Championship since Yugoslavia didn't manage to qualify (the didn't even manage to qualify to the Euro under 18 Championship...they lost against Spain in the decisive game)...Neither can Lampe since Poland didn't manage either qualify........
The best teams will probably be us greece, Croatians (they got some really good players in Pasalic, Ukic), Slovenia (Lorbek, Vujacic) and the US (if they send LeBron James, Carmelo and Bosh)....
Anyway players that will probably be in the NT are:

Schortsianitis
Vasilopoulos
Vasiliadis
Xanthopoulos
Spiros Magounis 
Dimos Angeloppoulos 
Nikos Papanikolaou 
Dusan Sakota 
Stratos Perperoglou
Players like Apostolidis (PAOK), Libaris (Iraklis) might also be chosen


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>suspect</b>!
> Actually Milicic can't play in the Under 18 World Championship since Yugoslavia didn't manage to qualify (the didn't even manage to qualify to the Euro under 18 Championship...they lost against Spain in the decisive game)...


I really had no idea. I'm quite surprised Yugoslavia didn't qualify because Milicic seems to have a big mouth.
If Milicic didn't play at the Euro champioship last summer, then I can't see how he can have an opinion about Schortsianitis. But if he did play and Schortsianitis schooled him, he better shut his mouth :yes:


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## Reznor

Milicic didn't even play in the AST with the Serbian team. Maybe his agents wanted to hide him. u know if he sucks vs. 30 yr old in Serbian league or C. Cup, then it's understandable, while if he rules, then.... yipikayee. 

On the other hand, if Lorbek had made him look like a kid in a junior tournoment... then... u know...


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## qwertyu

haha yeah I know what you mean Reznor. Anyway I hear that the Pistons are going to pick him at number which I'm afraid is not a good thing for him. He will be buried on the bench because the team has too much depth at the 4 and 5. Rebraca for example who doesn't play at all is much better than him.

Sorry if I have to ask this, but what exactly is the AST?


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## suspect

AST means Albert Schweitzer Turnament.....the unofficial World Youth CHampionship

Anyway it's true that Milicic didn't play in the AST....However he did play in the qualification round for the Euro under 18 and yet they failed....
Anyway there will be a lot of busts among the European players drafted this year.. I'm sure of that....Some simply aren't good enough (Pietrus) and others are talented but young players and you never know with those kind of players....Do the names Varda, Rakocevic, Rentzias ring a bell????
All of them were considered better prospects than lets say Lampe is right now and yet they failed.......(they weren't drafted that high though because back then because there was no Euro hype )


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## Reznor

As far as I know Rebraca has some heart problems. that's why he isn't playing. he did come back to the roster in the final games, but he was out for too long because of the heart problems.

but... I could b wrong.

The AST is the Albert Schweitzer Tournoment. You can find all the info u need about it in the link. 

Just for the lazy ones...it's sort of an unofficial World Championship for Juniors. Started back in the 70's (Magic played then...), and in the last years it became bigger and bigger (well..u know NBA scouts are all over the place). 

Greece won the gold in the last one. I'm surprised u didn't read anything about it on the Greek web or media. 

Baby Shaq and Perperoglou were picked for the Best 5 of the games.


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## qwertyu

No I know what that championship is. I just didn't know it was called AST.


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## SEOK

Dusan Sakota will not play with the Greek NT. Some weeks ago he received an invitation from the EOK (Hellenic Basketball Federation), but the anser of AEK "Sakota has been a player of the Serbia-Montenegro national team for one year"). 

About Kommatos or Paylidis in the National instead of Alvertis and Rentzias, I can't agree. It's not with players from average teams that you can build a NT: Kommatos has shown his limits in this playoff, there are at least 5 players better than Paylidis in this role. And Sigalas, a leader, the captain, can't be replaced by a teen-ager right now. 
I've to admit I can't be so sad if Ledkov will play in Sweden... actually I'd like to see: 
pg: Papaloukas and Diamantidis 
sg: Diamantopoulos and Hatzivrettas 
sf: Kakiouzis, Alvertis and Sigalas 
pf: Ntikoudis and Fotsis 
c: Ledkov, Rentzias and -why not?- Shortsianitis.


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## suspect

> About Kommatos or Paylidis in the National instead of Alvertis and Rentzias, I can't agree. It's not with players from average teams that you can build a NT: Kommatos has shown his limits in this playoff, there are at least 5 players better than Paylidis in this role.


What limits did Kommatos show in the playoffs??????HE has done a VERY good job in the playofff (did you see the AEK-PAOK series???)....Besides what has the ballet dancer Alvertis done in the playoffs????Nothing he has been on the bench and is carrying Buford's and Kutluay's towels....Not NT material....Besides Dikoudis doesn't like him (a re Dikoudi giati den estiles sto nosokomio persi)....so it will be better for the team spirit and team atmosphere if Alvertis is NOT on the team...
And something else I didn't say that Rentzias should be replaced with Pavlidis I said he should be replaced with Schortsianitis (who unlike Rentzias plays D, is not soft and rebounds)..
Anyway players like Sigalas, Rentzias and Alvertis have been given the chance to be starters in the NT for 6-7 years and the results have catastrophical.....it's obvious that they can't lead and help the NT........so it's time to move on now and NOT select them (besides there are better players than them available)...



> Dusan Sakota will not play with the Greek NT. Some weeks ago he received an invitation from the EOK (Hellenic Basketball Federation), but the anser of AEK "Sakota has been a player of the Serbia-Montenegro national team for one year").


Are you sure about that???
HE has been on a training camp with the Yugo junior NT but never played with them in an official game. He will play with the Greek NT in the future. He said no to the Greek Federations invitation in the begining but then they threatened him and his father that they would take their Greek Passports away and Dusan Sakota would be suspended from playing in the junior league and that made him(or Dragan??) changing his mind.
(it would have been 100% right to suspend him..from the moment that he benefits from playing in Greece as a Greek Citizen he can't be playing for another NT).


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## SEOK

Yes, it was my mistake: Paylidis instead of Tsartsaris (who won't be in the NT, it's pretty sure that). 

No no, Alvertis has to be in the team. In every time: I don't care if he scores 5 points per game and not 25. Maybe he's not a superstar, but he's the player I want with the ball in last possessions. Always always always, and as on opponent I want him on the bench in the crunch time. 
He's practically always perfect in these moments, he doesn't make any mistake when the ball is hot. A true winner, even if he's not a primadonna. 

Rentzias will desire to show he's still a basketball player, I'm sure he'll play with the NT with the right attitude.
I like the idea of a couple of tall players together on court like the Ledkov-Rentzias one could be: a tower who could play as libero, who doesn't ask many possesions, and who can cover what Rentzias misses in the defensive side. Moreover, Rentzias will do what Ledkov misses in offense.


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## guilherme.rcf

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> You mean the team that will play in the World Championship in Thesaloniki?
> 
> Most likely Schortsianitis will be on the team, especially now that Tsakalidis has returned to the men's team. I know that Vasiliadis and Vasilopoulos from PAOK are members of the team too. Don't remember who else is.
> 
> Anyway I hope the other teams bring their top players to the Champioship like Milicic, Lampe, Podkolzin, Splitter etc. and hopefully the American team would bring players like LeBron (I can dream can't I?), Carmelo or Bosh. It could be very much like the World Championship in Athens in '95 when the american team had players like Marbury and Vince Carter.


Splitter won't be there since Brazil didnt qualify to play. Argentina, USA and Venezuela (i guess) are the americans in the world jr championship


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## 0==II=======>

Which teams have qualified for the World Championship in Thessaloniki? Does anyone know? 

I might go and watch the games, but before doing so I need to know which teams I'll have the chance to see. Since there would be no Serbia&Montenegro team, no Brazil, etc, it is already a big minus for the competition. 

Thanks in advance for any info guys.


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## Reznor

Europe: Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Turkey, Lithuania.
Asia: Korea, China, Iran, Malaysia
America: USA, Argentina, Venezuela, Puerto Rico
Africa: Angola, Nigeria
Australia: Australia


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## 0==II=======>

Thanks a lot, Reznor.

Instead of asking you more questions about the tournament can you please tell me where I can find more info about it? I tried the official site of FIBA but, as always, it is impossible to find you way in there. It is just such a mess!

Thanks in advance, again.


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## Reznor

Well...to be honest most of the info I have is from fiba.com. I just know how to find my way there (But I agree...it ain't easy). 

You can find some info on eurobasket.com as well. I update the section of WC-Juniors when I have new info.


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## 0==II=======>

Thanks man. Your help is much appreciated. I'll try again FIBA.com.


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## Carl English

The USA is definitely going to lose some games in this tournament. The invite list is a joke considering their talent level compared to that of the best elgible players for this age category like Lebron and Bosh.


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## Reznor

u got the list of the last 12 USA players?


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## Carl English

Here's the list:

http://www.usabasketball.com/men/03_mtrials_roster.html

Only the players without an asterisk beside their name are elgible for the team.


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## Reznor

Cool.
Thanks a bunch.


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## qwertyu

Schortsianitis younger brother is 15 years old. 

I heard tht China and Malaysia might not be allowed to send their teams to Greece for the World Champioship because of the SARS disease.

I'm also pretty sure Tsartsaris will be a member of the greek NT this summer. He's better than Fotsis right now and Ioannidis has said many times that he likes him.
I like suspect's choices for the NT, but I don't see it happening. It's more than likely that Ioannidis will stick with the veterans.

I also hope Rentzias and Tsakalidis don't get too many minutes together because Dikoudis is much better than both of them.


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## Carl English

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> Schortsianitis younger brother is 15 years old.
> 
> I heard tht China and Malaysia might not be allowed to send their teams to Greece for the World Champioship because of the SARS disease.


Is the younger Schortsianitis as good as his brother was at that age?

If China and Malaysia can't go then who would replace them? Would they simply not add any teams and give China and Malaysia a free bid to the 2007 tournament?


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## Reznor

I don't believe they will ban China and Malaysia. 

They took took the championship from Malaysia, and now also ban them? It's ridiculous.

They could have said Malaysia will not play in Greece, cause basically they are in the WC only as "the hosting team", and they were invited to Greece although they are no longer the "hosting team". so...

but...on the other hand...FIBA...


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>Carl English</b>!
> 
> 
> Is the younger Schortsianitis as good as his brother was at that age?


no not really. He's a guard and he's one of the good players of his class, but Sofoklis was already a dominant big man in the European junior NT tournaments (hence the baby-Shaq nickname).



> If China and Malaysia can't go then who would replace them? Would they simply not add any teams and give China and Malaysia a free bid to the 2007 tournament?


I have no idea. I just read about it in a newspaper.


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>Reznor</b>!
> I don't believe they will ban China and Malaysia.
> 
> They took took the championship from Malaysia, and now also ban them? It's ridiculous.
> 
> They could have said Malaysia will not play in Greece, cause basically they are in the WC only as "the hosting team", and they were invited to Greece although they are no longer the "hosting team". so...
> 
> but...on the other hand...FIBA...


Yeah it would be kind of ridiculous to ban them, but on the other hand they're very afraid of SARS and they want to make sure that the diease won't spread in other countries.


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## SEOK

Great, we are genius in basketball! No-one wrote about the possibility of Andreas Glyniadakis to be drafted. 
Actually I've got the doubt that in the States now they trust too much in European players...  

Ioannidis announced the 19 players that will start to work for the European Basketball Championship: 

*pg*
Dimitris Diamantidis, Iraklis 
Theodoros Papaloukas, CSKA 
Hristos Harisis, Olympiakos 
Manolis Papamakarios, Peristeri 

*sg*
Giorgos Diamantopoulos, Panionios 
Nikos Hatzivrettas, CSKA 
Mihalis Pelekanos, Peristeri 

*sf*
Fragkiskos Alvertis, Panathinaikos 
Mihalis Kakiouzis, Montepaschi 
Giorgos Sigalas, Viola 
Nestoras Kommatos, PAOK 

*pf*
Dimosthenis Ntikoudis (AEK)
Antonis Fotsis (Panathinaikos) 
Konstantinos Tsartsaris (Panathinaikos) 
Dimitris Papanikolaou (Makedonikos) 

*c*
Iakovos Ledkov (Phoenix Suns) 
Efthimis Rentzias (Philadelphia 76ers) 
Lazaros Papadopoulos (Panathinaikos) 
Sofoklis Shortsianitis (Iraklis) 

I've to admit a certain delusion: I can't understand why Papanikolaou or Kommatos are there instead of Hristos Tapoutos, for example. And sincerely, I would have given a chance to Nikos Zisis. AEK is the team that works in the best way with young players, and has only Ntikoudis in the NT (and Dimos is leaving the team too...). 

The twelwe? I guess they will be Diamantidis, Harisis; Sigalas, Diamantopoulos, Hatzivrettas; Alvertis, Kakiouzis; Fotsis, Ntikoudis; Ledkov, Rentzias, Papadopoulos. 
I've lost all my optimism... 

take care...


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## suspect

> Originally posted by <b>SEOK</b>!
> Great, we are genius in basketball! No-one wrote about the possibility of Andreas Glyniadakis to be drafted.
> Actually I've got the doubt that in the States now they trust too much in European players...


Yeah the stupid americans and scouts don't seem to be familiar with the european bball scene..


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## kingl

> The twelwe? I guess they will be Diamantidis, Harisis; Sigalas, Diamantopoulos, Hatzivrettas; Alvertis, Kakiouzis; Fotsis, Ntikoudis; Ledkov, Rentzias, Papadopoulos.
> I've lost all my optimism...
> 
> take care...


Papadopoulos?I really dislike him...i would take Sofoklis...
AND Ioannidi please dont take Sigalas..he has been a mis8oforos of average european teams for the last five years...You have Alvertis for "psixi" arketos ine...Choose someone else...younger and more talanted...Why not Pelekanos?or Papamarkarios?
I think we have really good team...and why not winning the gold metal?I was thinking that this team is the best team we ever had ..but we lack from a leader...If Galis was playing now, we would have by far the best team in Europe...but no Galis unfortunatelly...Who do u guys think that can become the next leader?I have 3 on my mind: Diamantidis (i really like him..and he always knows what to do)Fotsis or Sofo??
Any other suggestions?Comments?


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## Brian.

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> Can people please comment on the following greek prospects and their chances of making it to the NBA:
> 
> 7) Andreas Gliniadakis


What are you thoughts on this guy obviously my pistons just drafted him. I know they plan to keep him overseas for a few more years. How good do you think this kid can get?


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## SEOK

> Originally posted by <b>kingl</b>!
> Papadopoulos?
> [...]
> Any other suggestions?Comments?


Papadopoulos is another victim of Obradovic the Cannibal (like Fotsis and Tsartsaris), unfortunately: another player destroyed by the Serbian coach. 
Gold medal? Hmmmm... _"Milos Vujanic, Marko Jaric, Dusan Vukcevic, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Zarko Cabarkapa, Predrag Stojakovic, Milan Gurovic, Dejan Bodiroga, Nenad Krstic, Darko Milicic, Predrag Drobnjak_". There's always someone better than you...
About Sigalas, I don't know exactly what would be better: he has always produced a lot for the NT despite some unlucky experiences with his clubs, and with Ioannidis who has particular nature, he is perfect to be between the rest of the team and the coach. A role-key in the dressing room (like Alvertis). 
Despite that, I would have not called him in the NT. 

My twelwe? Diamantidis, Papaloukas; Diamantopoulos, Hatzivrettas; Alvertis, Kakiouzis; Ntikoudis, Fotsis; Ledkov, Rentzias, Papadopoulos. 
The last one? The man with the biggest and strongest balls of Greece: Nikos Hatzis.


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## Marco Mitis

*Nikos*



> Originally posted by <b>SEOK</b>!
> 
> The last one? The man with the biggest and strongest balls of Greece: Nikos Hatzis.


Where's the dotted line? My sign on it.


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## kingl

> Originally posted by <b>SEOK</b>!
> 
> The last one? The man with the biggest and strongest balls of Greece: Nikos Hatzis.


I defenetally agree on that!He is the most underated Greek player of our times..

About Obradovic I also agree that he "destroyes everything that he can" but Papapadopoulos as far as i am conserned would not be much better. Ok he is technically great but he lacks strnght. He is not a bad player, in fact he is talanted...but he is unlucky....how can him play for the NT? when we have Tsakalidis, Retzias (may be repplacing Rentzias?) and Sofoklis.(and Dikoudis that can do occasionallly the job... )
I agree for Fotsis (great potential...but i heard that he is a tempelakos..) and Tsartsaris (who is not Fotsis...but can imrpove a lot himself)


As for the Europbasket, i thought that Bodoroga and some others (from the stars) wont play there....Is something changed?If they play we are the second or third possible winner....


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## suspect

I just wanna say that as for as the Greek NT goes I hope that Sigalas, Alvertis and Rentzias won't be given to many minutes...if they will be given many minutes I can see us having another dissapointment...
Diamantopoulos might have a bad attitude but he is the best shooting guard (scoring wise) in Europe and hopefully Ioannidis will be smart enough to start him....(instead of the useless Sigalas)....
Alvertis is not a better player than Fotsis or Kakiouzis and hopefully will not start...Same goes with Rentzias (Dikoudis is better than him)....


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## starvydas

*Re: Re: Young Greek NBA Prospects*



> Originally posted by <b>Brian</b>!
> 
> 
> What are you thoughts on this guy obviously my pistons just drafted him. I know they plan to keep him overseas for a few more years. How good do you think this kid can get?


He's your typical secound round big man gamble. Glyniadakis is huge. He really has a massive body frame, unlike many skinny Euro big men. He's a bit slow though, especially laterally.
His game for the moment is mainly focused on defense. The Greek league I believe is very defense-oriented and that's where he has been the most valuable as he takes space in the paint and is hard to move down low. His wingspan allows him to be a good shotblocker.
His offensive game right now is pretty raw, he's primarly used as a pick-setter (does this word even exist?) and he gets 90% of his points off putbacks or easy dunks/layups. He really has no consistent post move. If he can learn one or two, he may very well become a serviceable 3rd or 4th big man on an NBA team.

That's all I know about him, if any of the Greek guys sees something wrong in what I wrote, feel free to make some amendments.


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## suspect

Yeah I have some things to add...he has actually a pretty good mid-range jumper for a big guy..is a good shot blocker....
He was signed by PAO at the age of 16 but was unlucky as he had Obradovic as a coach and he doesn't like working with young players ......This year he was given to Peristeri and even there he wasn't given much PT..at the playoffs however their starting Center left and Glyniadakis got PT and played surprisingly well making everybody wonder why he hasn't been playing more....He is relatively unproven and tested and I'm not sure if he will become a Top player in Europe.........But he got size (7-1) and some talent.....We will see ....


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## ira

> Originally posted by <b>Carl English</b>!
> 
> 
> Is the younger Schortsianitis as good as his brother was at that age?



no way ! 

he can`t be bad since he plays for the nt but i doubt he`ll be a key player in the first division

he is as big though  


about dusan sakota : the greek said federation said that if he was to play for serbia then we would loose his greek passport (i guess it was fair cause this guy lived all him life in greece, was treated as greek and he has to give something back) 


i don`t remember who said that was very very very right about pavlidis this guy had an excellent season and deserves a place at in the trials !! 

who`s the best greek prospect ??? without doudt diamantidis. team player, excellent in defence, good rebounder ,even better passer , was among the best blockers in the league last year (and he is pg!!!) , not a very efficient long shooter and whrn he has got the chance is very spectacular..... 

wain till september and you`ll see


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## Nikos

Who is Diamantidis? What is his full name? Do you have a link to his profile?

Also is he going to play for the National Team or what?


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## ira

> Originally posted by <b>Nikos</b>!
> Who is Diamantidis? What is his full name? Do you have a link to his profile?
> 
> Also is he going to play for the National Team or what?


his full name is dimitris diamantidis , he played (and hopfully will play) for iraklis 

here are his stats from last season http://www.galanissportsdata.com/basketball/mena1/season2002_03/a1teamrs.asp?t=04

he was : 
21st rebounder
2nd in assists
4th in won fouls
1st in steals
9th in blocks (same place with th 7ft tall gliniadakis)


of course he will be in the NT for the european championship 
he already plays in the starting five


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## qwertyu

*My guess for who will be on the National team*

This is who I think will be on the team (not who I want on the team)

Diamantidis/Papaloukas/Papamakarios
Sigalas/Hatzivretas
Fotsis/Alvertis/Kakiouzis
Dikoudis/Tsartsaris
Tsakalidis/Rentzias

I have a feeling Ioannidis will take three PG's with him so either Papamakarios or Harisis will be on the team. I think he might prefer Papamakarios because Harisis just had a surgery.

I doubt Diamantopoulos will be on the team because Ioannidis trusts Hatzivretas and doesn't like players like Diamantopoulos who don't play defense. 
I disagree about Sigalas. He has been with the NT for 10 years, he always plays great defense and he is the best passer on the team. 

Ioannidis will try to find a way to start both Fotsis and Dikoudis s I think Fotsis will (finally) play at his natural position moving Alvertis to the bench. I'd like to see Kommatos on the team but I doubt it would happen, same with Papanikolaou and Pelekanos.

Papadopoulos will get a chance to be on the team after being buried on the bench by Obradovic all year and Schortsianitis was called to gain experience. Hopefully he will be on the team next year in the Olympics.


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## Nikos

*Re: My guess for who will be on the National team*



> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> 
> I doubt Diamantopoulos will be on the team because Ioannidis trusts Hatzivretas and doesn't like players like Diamantopoulos who don't play defense.


So if Diamantopoulos can't even make the NT, and Fotsis and Sigalas etc... are Greece best players and they can't even score more than 10pts in the NBA summer league is it safe to say there is no potential NBA GREEK TALENT in the upcoming future with the exception of Sofoklis?

Is there any chance Diamontopoullos could be an NBA player--or any other young Greek with potential?

NO WONDER the NT usually sucks.


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## qwertyu

Diamantopoulos is not a bad player, I just have a feeling he won't be on the team because he will get in an argument with Ioannidis. It has happened before. I hope I'm wrong though and Diamantopoulos gets picked for the team and plays well.

The NBA is more about politics than it is about having game. If you get a chance to play you can have a career in the NBA. If you don't have a good agent and you fall to the 2nd round you never get the chance to play. 

Why don't you shut up and wait for the championship in Sweden before you say that the NT sucks.


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## GreekStyler

well said!
I bet Diamandopoulos gets selected and has a huge world championship. He is too good of a talent. He is nba material.


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## Nikos

I dont think the NT sucks -- but I dont understand why guys like Fotsis get cut from the ****ty Grizzlies after one year?

Then when they make the NT people are here saying guys like Diamantopoulos etc... who are most talented aren't NBA material. It's just frustrating cause I want to see the GREEK NT do WELL.

I don't want their best and only talented player to be Fotsis. 

Are there any young greek propspects that COULD goto NBA and make a difference in your opinion?


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## Nikos

What about 

Nikos Zisis
Spannoulis
Pelekanos
Vassiliadis
Perperoglou
Diamantopoulos

What do they play like and are they potential NBA players?


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## qwertyu

Well sometimes having an NBA career is not just about talent but also about, luck (very important), having a good agent and being dedicated to become the best player you can be (something some greek players unfortunately lack).
It is true that a lot of greek players care more about drinking their 'frape' than playing basketball but I do think the younger generation is different, Schortsianitis and Vasiliadis in particular.

It's a real shame that players like Rentzias, Papanikolaou or Karagoutis didn't have the work ethic to become good players.

I guess we should wait and see what Schortsianitis and Glyniadakis will do and hope that Rentzias and Tsakalidis start to care about basketball a little more instead of just being big guys with no game.


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## ira

> Originally posted by <b>qwertyu</b>!
> and being dedicated to become the best player you can be (something some greek players unfortunately lack).


very very very true !!!! 

young players aren`t willing to hard hard and get what their talent deserves !! 

retzias is an example , karagkoutis is another... 
galis hould be their example ... the more famous he became the more he worked 


now only hatzivrettas works like this! 
he is the first to go and the last to leave a practice 
i`ve seen him working in the gym mid july when everyone were getting a tan! 

hje should - could be the leader of the NT but he is very low profile player .....


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## GreekStyler

Hey ira, SEOK or qwertyu have u guys heard of Ian Vougioukas, he played for the greek juniour basketball team in the championships that just finished. He is a 211cm center, and he scored 20 plus points in the third place game against croatia. Anyone seen him play in the championships??? is he a good prospect???.


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## ira

he only played in the last game (which i didn`t watch)

i think he plays for ilisiakos (with perperoglou)

he seems to be good but keep in mind that croatia didn`t have any good centers


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## qwertyu

> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> Hey ira, SEOK or qwertyu have u guys heard of Ian Vougioukas, he played for the greek juniour basketball team in the championships that just finished. He is a 211cm center, and he scored 20 plus points in the third place game against croatia. Anyone seen him play in the championships??? is he a good prospect???.


I had seen some of his stats before the games and he sounded like a good player but when Schortsianitis joined the team he benched him. I thought he could have been a good 5 with Schortsianitis at the 4 but the coach sucks.


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## gvergoulas

It looks like Vougioukas will be playing the states next year. Saint Louis have enrolled him for the next 4 year. Does anyone know if thats a good school and weather he'll become a better player there?


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## ira

it`s not a top school like duke and kentaki but it`s a decent one ....


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## bender

Obviously I was wrong, Sofos brother Alex isn't 9, but 15 yrs old. Sofoklis said his brother is that young in an interview he gave a German newspaper last year.



> Originally posted by <b>GreekStyler</b>!
> Sofo's brother plays for the Greek Cadette team. He is a 6'4" shooting guard. Don't know anything else about him. Anyone got any insights???


Are you sure that he's a SG? I heard he's a 6-6 250 PF.


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## qwertyu

yes he's a SG. I haven't seen him play but people who have, have told me that.


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