The return of the Olympic Games to the country where it all started is definitely one of the most important moments in the history of modern Greece. The Olympics are a great challenge not just for the country as a whole but also for our athletes--to succeed competing in front of their own fans.

Back in the 80s when Greek sports were nowhere near as successful as they are now, the Hellenic basketball national team led by Galis and Giannakis was one of the few bright spots in Greek sports that could make Greeks all over the world proud. After the retirement of all the legendary players like the 2 mentioned above as well as Fasoulas and Christodoulou, who led the team for
more than 10 years, the team still hasn’t found it’s identity.

 

The total failures in 1999 in France and in 2001 in Turkey led to the decision to hire the most successful Greek coach, Giannis Ioannidis. Ioannidis’ commitment to hard-nosed defense allowed our team to make it to the quarterfinals--but a loss to Italy left Greece in fifth place. Despite the fact that the team ended 5th ahead of superpowers like Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia and Russia most Greek basketball fans weren’t very happy with the results, mostly because of the way the game against Italy was lost, and of course because of the quality of basketball our team played.

 

Opinions in Greece right now vary regarding our chances to succeed at the Olympics, but the talent is there and the Greek team has proven that they can beat anyone who under-rates them especially in Athens.
 

The Coach
One of the main questions that most Greek basketball fans wonder about is who will be the 12 players who will make it to the Olympics. Coach Giannis Ioannidis will have a hard time picking the players this summer, just like he did last summer when he had to pick the team for the Eurobasket and left off the team the 2 leading scorers of the Greek league, Giorgos Diamantopoulos (23-years-old 1.96m/6'5" SG Olympiakos) and Nestoras Kommatos (27-years-old 2.00m/6'7" SF Aris).

Ioannidis, who left the team run and play free basketball during the preparation games for the last Eurobasket, changed the team’s style completely during the games, adopting a half-court offense with a lot of passing before someone would shoot and hard-nosed defense that resulted in the players’ exhaustion during the games, something that rather infuriated most fans of the team who weren’t happy with what they saw in Sweden.

What most of those fans fail to realize is the amount of stress the team was under in Sweden. After two consecutive failures in 1999 and 2001 the players wanted to prove more than anything else that Greek basketball wasn’t dead.  Fifth place was a good result for that reason alone. Hopefully this time--without that stress--the team will be able to play at their full potential.

The coach of the team is none other than Giannis Ioannidis. Ioannidis, who is near his sixties and is known to most Greeks as “Xanthos” (which means blonde), comes from a family of artists, since both his father and his brother were/are painters.  Ioannidis himself who has finished the Agricultural School at the Aristotle University in Thesaloniki, is an artist as well (he has presented some of his paintings at galleries), but his main passion is basketball.

 

He began his career as a player in the 60s and was known as one of the smartest point-guards who played basketball at the time in Greece.  He has often compared his game to that of Milan Tomic, a player of his at Olympiakos for many years. After winning a championship with Aris in the early 80s, he was called to lead the NT at the 1983 Eurobasket, where he adopted a system with 3 short guards, Giannakis, Galis and Koronaios...and the team failed miserably. Ioannidis then returned to Aris where he built an empire, winning championship after championship in Greece, but failed to win a European Championship after going to 3 consecutive Final 4s in 1988, 1989 and 1990. His departure from Aris led him to Olympiakos where his goal was again to build an empire, this time not with legends like Galis and Giannakis, but with young players. Ioannidis did his job perfectly, leading Olympiakos to 5 championships and 2 European Final 4s but failed to win it again. Something he tried to do again with AEK, with whom he went to another F4 but once again failed. After a disappointing second stint with Olympiakos, his doubters and haters found the opportunity to call his style of basketball "old-fashioned" and his methods useless, but after the 2 consecutive failures of the Greek NT, hiring Ioannidis was the only logical choice for the Greek NT.

 

His recent involvement in politics has made many people question whether he should lead the NT to the Olympics (parliament members in Greece are not allowed to have another occupation), but Ioannidis claims he will work for the NT as a volunteer, knowing that this could be one of his last jobs before he leaves basketball altogether.
 

The Players
The roster in Sweden this summer consisted of the following players (Name, age, height, position, club):

Thodoris Papaloukas 27 1.98/6-6 PG CSKA Moscow: Papaloukas one of the fastest PGs in Greece became the starting PG for the NT in 2001 but in both Eurobaskets he was a total failure.  His experience though is very important but his place on the roster is not guaranteed anymore with the rise of younger PGs like Spanoulis.

Dimitris Diamantidis 24 1.94/6-5 PG Iraklis: Diamantidis, the Greek Jason Kidd, aka the "Octopus-man" because of his long arms that help him in every aspect of his game has been the last 2 years the best PG in Greece.  His inability to shoot though makes him rather useless in a half-court offense.  Still needs experience, but his talent as well as his potential secure him a spot on the team.

Christos Harisis 27 1.89/6-3 PG Olympiakos:  Harisis who was a last minute addition to the team last summer, became the team’s hero outplaying the other two PGs and scoring the buzzer beater against Croatia. Harisis, who has been suffering lately because of some problems with his respiratory system that don’t allow him to play more 8 minutes in a row is known for his hard-nosed defense and of course for his buzzer-beaters, something he is an expert at.

Giorgos Sigalas 33 2.00/6-7 SG Makedonikos: Captain of the NT, Giorgos Sigalas also known as “Rambo”, is one of the last Mohicans of Greek basketball and the only remaining member of the team with Giannakis, Fasoulas and Christodoulou.  His production the last few years has dropped dramatically, not only because of age but also because he is playing out of position at the 3.  He becomes a different man when he joins the NT  though.  This is probably the last time he will play with the NT and he probably wants to leave with an Olympic medal.

 

Nikos Hatzivretas 27 1.95/6-5 SG Panathinaikos:  After one year in Russia with CSKA, he returned this year to Greece for Panathinaikos. Hatzivretas who 2 years ago became the first Greek player since Galis to lead the national league in scoring, had an awful game against Italy at the last Eurobasket, but remains the most reliable SG in Greece.

Fragiskos Alvertis 30 2.06/6-9 SF Panathinaikos: Alvertis, one of the "smoothest" shooters in Europe the last 10 years is the team’s co-captain.  Alvertis, who is also the president of the union of Greek basketball players (and basketball players who live in Greece), had an awful game against Italy last summer, just like Hatzivretas, but no one questions his commitment to the team and it will be a (rather huge) surprise if he’s not one of Ioannidis’ 12 picks.

 

Dimitris Papanikolaou 27 1.99/6-7 SF Panathinaikos: Papanikolaou who was once called the next Christodoulou and one of the greatest hopes of Greek basketball, has failed to live up to the expectations, but he still gets his chances with the NT.  This year playing for Obradovic at Panathinaikos has spent most of his time on the bench which makes it rather unlikely for him to be on the team (especially if you consider the competition at these positions), unless there are dramatic
changes until the summer.

 

Mihalis Kakiouzis 28 2.06/6-9 SF Siena:  Mihalis who recently got married and is probably the smartest player without the ball in Europe, was the team’s 12th player in Sweden which made a lot of people question Ioannidis’ game plan.  One of the most consistent Greek players, who always work hard and get better, plays out of position at the 4, in Italy with Siena has some problems when he plays inside because of his lack of weight, but is also one of the most reliable scorers on the team.  It will be very unfair if he’s not on the team this summer.

Dimos Dikoudis 27 2.04/6-8 PF Valencia: Dimos who was the team’s best player last summer, has established himself the last  few years as the best Greek basketball player. Reliable both on the offensive end and the defensive end, can be effective both inside and outside shooting 3s.  Ioannidis has said that he wants "palikaria" like Dikoudis on the team (palikari is the Greek word for very brave man) which shows the amount of respect he has for Dikoudis.

Antonis Fotsis 23 2.11/6-11 SF/PF Real Madrid:  Antonis, the first, born in Greece player who played in the NBA combines excellent athleticism and excellent shooting but his lack of focus and his immaturity have kept him from becoming a super player.  Has all the talent in the world and is a joy to watch with his amazing dunks but still needs time to reach his full potential, something that many experts believe will never happen as long as he plays at the 4.

Jake Tsakalidis 26 2.17 7-2 C Memphis Grizzlies:  Tsakalidis who first came to Greece after the collapse of the Soviet Union hoping to find a new home, began his athletic career as a swimmer but soon had to convert to basketball because of his enormous height. His friendship with Ioannidis who was the first coach to make him a starter with AEK made him return to the NT last summer, hoping he could win a medal with the Greek Olympic team. His lack of basketball instincts shows on the court many times, but his height can be very useful especially for defensive purposes.

Efthimis Rentzias 28 2.13 /7 PF Ulker:  Rentzias, once the Greek Superman, didn’t have the development everyone expected him to have. He’s still a reliable shooter from outside but his lack of toughness makes it difficult for him to fight inside.  This year he has been very disappointing which has put his place on the team in danger.

Other players who were left off the team at the last moment last summer were Kostas Tsartsaris (26 2.09/6-11 PF Panathinaikos), Manolis Papamakarios (23 1.88/6-2 PG Peristeri), Giorgos Diamantopoulos and Lazaros Papadopoulos (24 2.10/6-11 Iraklis). Kommatos was cut off the team earlier as well as Mihalis Pelekanos (22 1.97/6-6 SG/SF Peristeri) and NBA draftee, Sofoklis Schortsianitis (18 2.04/6-9 Oregon Scientific Cantú) who had injuries.

Tsartsaris who is having an amazing season this year has obviously won his spot on the team.  Papamakarios has been a real leader for Peristeri, but has a lot of competition at the 1, while his teammate, Pelekanos, probably the best leaper in Greek basketball, hasn’t been this productive this year, but is still a very effective all-around player. Giorgos Diamantopoulos is still the most resourceful scorer in Greek basketball and Lazaros Papadopoulos is one of the favorites to win the back-up center spot, especially since Rentzias is playing so badly. Schortsianitis has been disappointing this year and won’t even be considered. Nestoras Kommatos on the other hand is considered the MVP of the Greek league this year and it will be very unfair if he is left off the team again, without being given a chance.

 

Other players whose name has been mentioned are the new sensation of Greek basketball, Vassilis Spanoulis (22 1.96/6-5 PG Marousi), who will have to fight for a spot on the team, but whose fearless game might make him end up as the team’s starting PG, Nikos Hatzis (28 1.96/6-5 SG AEK), the captain of AEK and an amazing shooter and many others like Glyniadakis (22 2.17/7-2 C AEK), Liadelis (30 1.91/6-3 SG Olympiakos), Iliadis (23 1.88/6-3 SG Iraklis), Paulidis (26 2.04/6-9 PF Iraklis), and Giannoulis (28 2.05/6-9 C Panionios), Zisis (22 1.95/6-5 SG AEK).

My predictions for the roster? Diamantidis, Harisis, Spanoulis (for point guards), Sigalas, Hatzivretas (for shooting guards), Alvertis, Kommatos (for shooting forwards), Dikoudis, Fotsis, Tsartsaris (for power forwards), Tsakalidis, Papadopoulos (for centers). I still wouldn’t bet money on it though. 

We will probably see many changes until the Olympics.