RealGM

today started the european basketball championship. both okur and andre do not participate in the tournament but the training camp and competition will be valuable for our guy Kosta.

in day 1 against a below average rival , macedonia , koufos got some minutes and blocked 2 shots . but his rebounding and game iq was still questionable.

and here's the boxscore of the game

http://live.fibaeurope.com/netcasting/d ... =undefined

Kosta is going to break out this year. I am really getting that feeling.

It's new territory for him as he's not carrying an entire team on his back like his did 2 years ago. He's got some veterans in front of him so don't expect too much playing time as we progress into the tougher stages.

Clips of Kosta Koufos from four Eurobasket Preparation games.

(vs Romania, Latvia, Servia & Lithuania)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfUerTuFIBQ

#4 in blocks behind "Polish Hammer" Gortat, Maciej Lampe and Ronny Turiaf.
#4 in FT percent
#12 in FT made

Not bad at all. It was his first game in the greek senior team and he got 9 minutes. That shows you that they trust him, being only 20 and getting the ball and going to the FT line that much.

He is also facing much tougher competition than he would in summer league.

Keep in mind europeans count assists and boards differently then in the US.

Koufos stats on todays game against Croatia:

13 min, 10 pts (4/5), 2 boards and 3 PF

His rebounding numbers so far are terrible.

Rebounding and man defense have been my main concerns with Koufos. Fesenko is the opposite, his help d is atrocious but his man D is good and I think he can be an above average rebounder. They compliment each other nicely we just need Fes to develop more.

Soul Patch wrote:Rebounding and man defense have been my main concerns with Koufos. Fesenko is the opposite, his help d is atrocious but his man D is good and I think he can be an above average rebounder. They compliment each other nicely we just need Fes to develop more.

Well i am not sure how much talent Fes has. Kosta is obvious raw talent, that he will getting better every year. Being with the Greek NT, it will helps him greatly on the D. Facing big Sofo on the practices will make him tougher too

I forgot he'd go up against Sofo, that should help him quite a bit.

From Ross Siler's blog:

Koufos totaled four points and a team-high eight rebounds Wednesday in his most extensive action so far of the European championships. Koufos played 20 minutes and also had three steals, two blocks and three turnovers as Greece beat Israel 106-80 to finish 3-0 in the first stage of pool play.

Better job on the boards. I also like the steals and blocks.

HappyProle wrote:From Ross Siler's blog:

Koufos totaled four points and a team-high eight rebounds Wednesday in his most extensive action so far of the European championships. Koufos played 20 minutes and also had three steals, two blocks and three turnovers as Greece beat Israel 106-80 to finish 3-0 in the first stage of pool play.

Better job on the boards. I also like the steals and blocks.

Blocks is his best skill right now from what i saw him, but we are expecting more from him, even that our front line is very loaded.

Too much pressure to take, right, Ελλάδα?