Sofoklis Schortsanitis: Big Sofo Updates

[qiangdade]

bourousis cut from the nt. I think that gives the answer wether sofo is in yannakis' plans or not

[hagakure]

Well, this isnt as important as the win, so, as soon as the best players can achieve the best chemistry and effectiveness possible, then the better for the team (of destiny..).

I have to disagree with this logic. Rehaggel tried to do that but it didn't work. It's good to have players that know how to play with each other but being fair to everyone is more important IMO. If some of the new players don't get a chance then they will not be interested in playing for the NT in the future. So far Giannakis has shown that he is fair by cutting veterans that couldn't help anymore and I hope he continues to do that.

[KokkinosVasilias]

Yannakis said that Sofo has missed training, he has tenontitis
so he may select Mavrokefalidis and not Sofo..

(thats fine by me... )

[Minotavros]

Scary Big SOFO PICS!!!!




And my favorite one!!!

[stuart]

A little late, but worth updating this thread with...

Source: Yahoo and AFP

Greece's "Baby Shaq" eager to face US NBA stars
by Jim Slater, August 31, 2006

SAITAMA, Japan (AFP) - Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, better known as "Baby Shaq", sees a great opportunity in his team's semi-final showdown Friday with the United States at the World Basketball Championship.

Schortsanitis, a 2.08m center, has the same sort of wide body and inside power near the hoop that helped make Shaquille O'Neal a National Basketball Association superstar.

This mighty Greek colossus was effective on defense against NBA giant Yao Ming in a playoff win over China. Now the 21-year-old Euroleague standout with Olympiakos will see how he performs against a team of NBA stars.

"It will mean a lot to me. It will be a great test," Schortsanitis said. "I already had one against Yao Ming. He was really great."

Schortsanitis dropped 35 pounds to improve the speed needed to make effective use of his bulk.

That has allowed him to contribute more when coming off the bench as part of Greece's team approach, a Charles Barkley-esque body banger who can muscle his way over, around or through most opponents but has stamina issues.

"This team is like a puzzle. If you take a piece out, it's all going to collapse," Greece star Theodoros Papaloukas said. "With all the years we've had together, it all comes down to the experience."

Strongman Schortsanitis was a second-round selection of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers in the 2003 NBA Draft at age 18 and knows NBA scouts are watching here to see if he has developed into a player ready for the game's richest stage.

"We have played great. We were determined to reach our goal of getting to the final four," he said. "We must keep doing the good work in the semi-final."

"Baby Shaq" averaged 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds a game in the European league season, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting, and during Greece's 7-0 run at the worlds has averaged 7.8 points in nine minutes a game.

European champion Greece can avenge a loss to the US team in the 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medal game and ensure their first medal in global competition.

"We will do our best to bring home a medal for the people of Greece. A medal here would be great," Schortsanitis said.

"But we have a semi-final against one of the best teams in the world. The US team is not like the other teams that are in this tournament."

So how does "Baby Shaq" expect Greece to conquer the American juggernaut.

"We just need to bring down the light," he said.

Expect that to mean bringing down a few US players and slamming down a few dunks as well.

[arsinoh]

Big Sofo's mother

I found a quote from a greek sports site about schortsianitis that seems very funny and I thought i could share it with you

Sofoklis's mother about the game between Greece and China:
"I saw Yao Ming pushing my little one and I got scared"

And the journalist's comment: Little one?...pushing?... Scared?

(http://www.sport24.gr/html/ent/563/ent.137563.asp)

[hagakure]

I found a quote from a greek sports site about schortsianitis that seems very funny and I thought i could share it with you

Sofoklis's mother about the game between Greece and China:
"I saw Yao Ming pushing my little one and I got scared"

And the journalist's comment: Little one?...pushing?... Scared?

(http://www.sport24.gr/html/ent/563/ent.137563.asp)

LOL that's funny, I think I'll use it as a signature.
Did anyone notice that after the final Sofo was devastated? He couldn't get over the fact that he couldn't contribute in the final and the other players were patting him on the back to make him feel better.

[stuart]

From CNN/Sports Illustrated: source

The next Shaq?
Greece's Schortsanitis next big thing on NBA horizon

When it comes to the NBA, size does matter. No one really knows when small ball became en vogue; maybe it was in the mid-'90s when wing players such as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were dominating a league that still possessed dominant centers.

While the Bulls were decorating their hands with rings, the power game in the NBA was very much still alive, what with future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson on the scene.

Even so, the big man's game wasn't cool anymore. The NBA has become a place where small ball reigns supreme, where the Phoenix Suns are the most entertaining team and Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant are the players most want to emulate. Who wants to master the jump hook when a killer crossover can bring the crowd to its feet?

Yet while kids on the playground are trying to be like Mike, NBA general managers have been on alert when it comes to finding the next Shaquille O'Neal. Guards might sell tickets, but size wins games.

Enter Sofoklis Schortsanitis. If you had Schortsanitis as the player most likely to disrupt Team USA's game plan at the world championships, well, there may be an NBA front-office job in your future.

"We knew he was good," center Chris Bosh said after Schortsanitis torched the U.S. for 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the semifinals. "But we didn't know he was that good."

Just how good the 21-year-old Schortsanitis can be will be seen under the purview of the Clippers, who drafted the 6-foot-10, 275-pound forward with the 34th pick in 2003. The son of a Greek father and a Cameroonian mother, Schortsanitis began playing professionally at 15 and has drawn comparisons to big men ranging from O'Neal (he was dubbed Baby Shaq, a nickname he loathes, by former teammate Tony Farmer) to the portly Oliver Miller (Schortsanitis reportedly showed up for training camp in Greece last year at 400 pounds).

Last season Schortsanitis averaged 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds for Olympiakos in 22 Euro League games. Perhaps just as important, Schortsanitis lost 50 pounds last summer, a sign that he may be making a stronger commitment to basketball.

"He's a lot like Danny Fortson," says an Eastern Conference assistant coach. "He's limited offensively but he's a rugged defender and rebounder. Hey, every team could use a guy like that."

Schortsanitis may be NBA-ready, but the Clippers aren't ready for him, at least not this year. Though the front office is high on him, the Clippers' roster is nearly full, and it is unlikely the team would offer Schortsanitis more than the lucrative deal he signed in Greece. Getting him Stateside, though, won't be a problem: Schortsanitis reportedly has a $500,000 buyout in his contract that will free him from the remaining four years of his deal.

Whenever he comes, Schortsanitis will already have a few fans. "The guy plays with big cajones," Rockets forward Shane Battier says. "A lot of guys shrink when they play the U.S. He's not one of them."