Kosta Koufos
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| Kosta Koufos | |
|---|---|
| College | Ohio State |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Position | Center |
| Career | 2007 – 2008 |
| Height | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) |
| Weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | February 24, 1989  Canton, Ohio |
| High school | GlenOak High School, Canton, Ohio |
| Career highlights | |
| Awards | |
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Konstantinos D. “Kosta” Koufos (Greek Κώστας Κουφός Kóstas Koufós, born on February 24, 1989 in Canton, Ohio) is a Greek American basketball player. He attends Ohio State University, where he is currently completing his freshman year. Koufos holds dual citizenship of both the United States and Greece, but has chosen to play for the Greece national basketball team.
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[edit] High school career
Koufos attended GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio. He was a McDonald's All-American as a senior, and ranked #3 center of the 2007 high school class by Rivals.com.[1] He also played for the AAU team sponsored by LeBron James.
In 2007, Koufos finished second to Buckeye teammate Jon Diebler in the Mr. Ohio Basketball voting. During his senior season with GlenOak, Koufos was named the Division I player of the year and was first-team all-state. He also earned first-team Northeast Inland all-district honors.
The 2007 McDonald’s and EA Sports All-American, Koufos averaged 25.9 points, 15.4 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game. He was instrumental in GlenOak snapping Canton McKinley’s 41-game win streak in January of 2007 when he posted 32 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks to help the Golden Eagles edge the Bulldogs, 56-55, in overtime. The next day, Koufos recorded 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks against Detroit Country Day, the No. 2 team in the state of Michigan, to lead GlenOak to its ninth-consecutive victory.
As a junior, Koufos averaged 24 points, 11.1 rebounds and four blocks per game and was named second-team all-state.
In April of 2007, Koufos was a member of the Royal team in the Jordan All-American Classic in Madison Square Garden.
[edit] College career
In 2007, Koufos joined the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he has replaced Greg Oden at center. He also turned down a multi-million dollar offer by a Greek basketball club.[2]He was named MVP of the 2008 NIT after leading the Buckeyes to the championship by defeating UMass 92-85.
At the conclusion of his freshman year at Ohio State, Koufos averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. He scored a total of 534 points, 66 of them coming from behind the arc.
On April 21, 2008, Koufos declared himself eligible for the upcoming 2008 NBA Draft, but initially chose not to hire an agent; this would have allowed him to return to Ohio State if he withdrew from the draft on or before before the June 16 withdrawal deadline. However, at the same time, it was speculated that he would leave the Buckeyes anyway to sign a professional contract in Greece.[3] On May 8, the Canton Repository reported that Koufos signed with Cleveland-based agent Mark Termini, thereby ending his college eligibility.[4]
[edit] International career
Koufos was a member of the Greek junior national team at the 2007 U18 European championships in Spain. He led his team to the final game, but while Greece lost to Serbia, Koufos won the tournament's MVP award after leading the competition in points, rebounds and blocked shots.[5] Koufos was considered the top Greek basketball talent since Efthimios Rentzias, named the MVP of the 1995 Under-19 World Championships.
[edit] Personal
Koufos is the son of Katerina and the late Alex Koufos. He has one brother, Vasilios, and a sister, Maria. After graduation, he plans to work in the business world or play professionally.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Nicolas Batum |
U18 Men's European Championships MVP 2007 |
Succeeded by current |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Koufos, Kosta |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Koufos, Kostas |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Greek American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 24, 1989 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Canton, Ohion |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
