U-18 European Championship: Colossus Koufos

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DraftExpress meets its annual rendezvous with the U-18 European Championship, where Kosta Koufos is the name most repeated these days. With his dominant performance he has brilliantly led Greece to the semifinals. Escorting Koufos as high-quality NBA prospects we find the likes of Ricky Rubio or Donatas Montiejunas. Also we pay special attention to the simulacrum game between Serbia and Lithuania.

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[Sed]

Koufos... the next Bogut ?

[coachjon]

i can see bogut in him but i see more of mehmet okur.

[DonMonte]

Serbia is the best. Macvan is the King. They did it again. What a matchup between Macvan and Koufos this was today. Simply great.

[mullet is gone]

Thats a serious accusation you are making against the ser-lit teams? Is there going to be any repercussions for them?

[Sed]

i can see bogut in him but i see more of mehmet okur.
I meant more in the lines of him dominating the youth competition and next up is the NCAA.
Personally I don't see the Okur comparison. ( mainly because as a youth player he allready was a shooter, and he still is. )

Ogilvy is pretty similar in that regard. He too has a chance to be good. Dominated the youth competition, next up is the NCAA. At Vanderbilt he'll get plenty of touches!

Looks like Roy Hibbert will be facing stiff competition to determine who's the best C in the NCAA next year.

[KristianH]

Thats a serious accusation you are making against the ser-lit teams? Is there going to be any repercussions for them?

there is a possiblity that all lithuanian and serbian players will be banned for one year.

[jwfish6]

Theres no way that would happen. How can they prove anything?

This is great:

"Our delegation at the European Junior Championship (U18) in Madrid is unhappy with the behaviour of the host and organizer of this tournament and wrote the following letter to the Spanish Basketball Federation and their President Jose Louis Saez Regaldo.

"Healthy sports rivalries are something which bring progress to sports, and us as a Federation has raised the standards of European and World basketball for decades have always been an example for what is good.

The hatred which has awaited us here, at the European Championships for Juniors up to the age of 18 has crossed all boundaries seen in sports.

On the first day of our arival to Madrid we were welcomed with the sensationalist information that we do not have a night practice, and only through the insistance and help of the FIBA Europe representative were we able to get the 10pm timeslot, even though all bulletins and documents which we received in the past promised us a 9pm practice. The surprise was even greater when we saw that during our originally scheduled practice the Spanish national team was holding it's practice.

For the day of our arrival, we scheduled a snack at 7pm and even made an agreement about the menu for that meal. At the reception, the organizers notified us that we cannot get the snack, since the restaurant is closed at that time. Again, through the intervention and help of a FIBA Europe representative we were able to get a snack, for which we were requested to pay on the spot, which we did.

On the first day of the tournament, before a very important game against Russia, a new surprise awaited us. The changeroom where our team and was to change and prepare for the game was intended for referees with one small bench, three lockers, two showers and one toilet, with an area of about 10 metres squared (100 squared ft). When we complained that the lockerroom was clearly for referees and not for the whole team, the organizer put in about 10 chairs, after which we weren't even able to enter the room. The entire space was filled with chairs, so we had to change and prepare for the game in the hallway. The organizers noticed their big mistake and at half time told us that we will have a normal lockerroom in the future. But, we still ended up receiving the same lockerroom, in the semifinals, we recognized the attempt to provoke us, so we didn't react since we now understood that the intended place for our team to use before a game is the hallway!

We played a game against your team and honourably won it (even though there was pressure) by 9 points. It shouldn't be allowed and is shocking that you as the organizers of the championship allow your TV reporters insult our national team, our country and Serbs as a people. Even then you started a calculated campaign against the Serbian National Team (U18) because you saw that we are better than you are and that while we were playing this tournament that you could never win first place.

The game against Lithuania is your invented case with which you are making excuses with your public for the failure of your national team. Why didn't you beat us? Why didn't you beat Lithuania by 20? That is what you should try to explain to your people and not hide behind us and the Lithuanians. There would be no use to explaining to your public how many people you have called in Serbia (high ranking basketball officials) to urge and as you said "tame the Serbs" to beat Lithuania, promising Serbs all kinds of great things. According to you, we must be the Mafia president. We were shocked when we received calls from people telling us your messages and promises that you will be kind to us when YOU become the president of FIBA.

It is also unbecoming to announce the fact that at all of our practices there were only 6 or 7 balls for our 12 players. Before today's morning practice, which was only allowed to last 30 minutes we started late because the Spanish national team was in there before us. Of course, the practice time wasn't extended for those 6 minutes, as we had to leave after 24 minutes of practice time.

Your biggest hatred of us was demonstrated by you, the organizer, towards our national team with the implications of fixing the scores of games. Pressures and unhonourable actions which you are undertaking not only towards us but also our collective federation (FIBA Europe) reached a peak today when a meeting of the Complaints Commission took place at 3pm. The decision was made at 4:30pm, 2 hours before the start of our semi-final match. You lobbied for this meeting all day August 10th and 11th, until 3pm. You tried to ruin the reputation of FIBA along with the sport of basketball in Europe. Since you couldn't beat us on the court, you tried to do so with administrative pressures and lobbying with Complaints Commissions even though the decision was already made by the Technical Commission of FIBA Europe. The Serbian national team (U18) took all possible steps to try and beat the Lithuanian national team, since we lost this should be analyzed by sports experts, the same way that your national team didn't beat Lithuania by more than 5 points or that you couldn't defeat us either. Is this all a setup to you?

It is widely known that you don't have any proof, since none exists. You have broken every administrative rule with respect to complaints, which must be filed 20 minutes upon the conclusion of the match. If your representative would have filed the complaint on August 11th before 3pm and that was before the Complaints Commission meeting which said that there were no factors and no need for examining these complaints. Even after all this, we stayed calm, because we didn't want to answer to new unfounded charges, knowing that the truth and justice will prevail. You are forgetting the fact that our Federation is the winningest one in this sport, both in senior and junior competitions, and we didn't achieve them by fixing scores, but with sportsman-like and battling on the court. Last year we were the European Champions for the young men's competitions and this year we are the European U20 champs, the World U19 champs, the European U16 champs and as you can see we are playing for the European U18 championships in the finals. According to you, this is probably all a set up. We feel that many of your honourable basketball officials are probably emberassed at how your federation is behaving. Mr. President, you should be gracious in victory and even more gracious in defeat.

Even to the most ignorant sports followers it is clear that you cannot reach these types of success with fixing the score of games. This is why we are strongly protesting and not allowing you or anyone else to try and ruin the reputation and greatest tradition of basketball in Europe, the Serbian Basketball Federation. The methods that you are using and are trying to use will not get you far in sports. This is why you should turn your work towards a fair and dignified manner, so that you could become great with trying to step on the already great.

The dishonourable actions that you have taken against our national team go against your conscience and you will not be able to defeat us in our pursuit of developing basketball in Europe and achieving great results."

[fjkdsi]

i don't see how Macvan is not a first round pick
sure he is only about 6'8 at most and not very quick but he can flat out play....
isnt that all that matters???????

as far as Koufos i see a lot in him i think he can become a top 5 pick and him and BJ Mullens will be the college Twin Towers in 2008-09 because i think Koufos will stay for his Sophmore year but we'll see

Bogut is a good comparison but Koufos is already a better defender

[jwfish6]

i don't see how Macvan is not a first round pick
sure he is only about 6'8 at most and not very quick but he can flat out play....
isnt that all that matters???????



True. I agree that is all that matters. There have been plenty of players of his abilities suceed in the NBA. Plus he isnt as un athletic as most stereotype him as. But most would like for him not to go to the NBA along with the rest of these kids.

[andrejjan]

Macvan is george zidek minus 3 inches, no nba potential whatsoever.

[Hitster]

Koufos is ticking all the boxes, he's dominated his age group at the Euros and now going to Ohio State, he is filling G-OD's large shoes. Actually following Greg is good for him as no-one will expect him to match up to a guy who was the best College prospect for about 5 years when he played last season. Thus if coaches start saying that Koufos is anywhere near then his draft value could soar. Likewise as Sed states if he matches up well against Hibbert then again this will increase his draft value. Having shown what he can do in Europe then a year in the NCAA will prove if he can match the best there so if he succeeds then you can start to say the guy is one of the best players of his age in the world.

As fjkdsi states if Koufos does stay in college until say 2009 then he could form an awesome combo with B.J Mullins and would potentially give Ohio a great shot at the Championship. How having two potential top big men on the same college team would work would be interesting, I'd guess that Mullins may have to drop in at 4 as Koufos would be the established 5. If the guys gelled then it could help their respective draft values as NBA coaches would see how they could compliment each other playing with a guy who would be nearer the quality that they would face in the NBA rather than just dominating the boards for their college on their own.

I see Mullins as a top 10 pick when he declares and Koufous promises to be the same when he declares.