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Greek Prospect Georgios Papagiannis Close to Deciding Future

By Chris Godfrey

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Massive Greek center Georgios Papagiannis is currently playing some of the best teenagers in the world at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Crete. After the tournament ends, Papagiannis will likely announce a decision regarding his basketball future.

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Papagiannis is currently playing for Greek professional powerhouse Panathinaikos, but it is likely that he will make a move to America to play college basketball for a year before entering the NBA Draft. His father is firmly in favor of his son attending stateside, which has caused many to believe that the move is imminent.

Furthermore, Papagiannis told SI.com “It’s one of my dreams to go to college,” and that “from the beginning [when] I started loving basketball and saw all these great players on TV, I thought I want to go to college.” Papagiannis has said that he is considering four schools at this time (St. John’s, Kentucky, North Carolina State, and Oregon), but according to reports, only three seem to be mutually interested.

It’s worth noting that Papagiannis has not acknowledged that he has heard anything along those lines from Kentucky. However, this may be more telling.

In an interview with Draft Express, Papagiannis did not mention the Oregon Ducks when asked about his potential landing spots in America.

The Ducks may be on the outside looking in for the moment, but they do have an in on the big man that no one else can boast. Papagiannis’ current roommate in at the World Championships is Oregon commit Tyler Dorsey, a player whose Greek heritage was “discovered” just in time for the tournament (he was given permission to play from FIBA a day before the tournament started. Dorsey has been actively recruiting his national teammate, but it seems that he has plenty of work to do to bring him to Eugene.

If Kentucky is truly uninterested, that means that North Carolina State presents the best opportunity for Papagiannis to make an impact on the national landscape. Mark Gottfried seems to know that as well, that’s why he traveled to Greece to visit the intriguing big man in April.

The Wolfpack lost Trevor Lacy to an awful decision to enter the NBA Draft, but Anthony “Cat” Barber and other key contributors make the Pack a definite tournament team. Adding Papagiannis to a roster that already includes BeeJay Anya would give Mark Gottfried one of the nation’s best frontlines and an outside shot at the Final Four.

St. John’s has been on the radar for Papagiannis for quite some time now. However, most of his relationship with the school was established while Steve Lavin was coaching the team. At this point, St. John’s offers the opportunity for Papagiannis to be the team’s featured player, as well as the latest addition with international flare. He would join fellow Euro-prospects Yankuba Sima (currently playing in the U19 World Championships with Spain) and Federico Mussini (an Italian who is missing the U19 World Championships due to injury). Since Papagiannis’ ultimate goal is a fast track to the NBA, he could be swayed by new head coach Chris Mullin‘s connections to the next level.

Papagiannis has been playing well in Crete, averaging close to a double-double (8.6 points, 9 rebounds) as his Greek team heads into a showdown with the Americans in the tournament semifinal.

Next: Potential Sleepers Selected in the Second Round

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