IN THE GAME

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Nov 13 2008; Full article
To watch: Ioannis Bouroussis
On a roster packed with superstars, Ioannis Bouroussis is an unlikely Olympiacos topscorer in the 08/09 Euroleague campaign so far. Playing alongside Marc Jackson under former Olympiacos coach Pini Gershon last season, Bouroussis was asked to spread the floor with his shooting ability in order to make space for his colleague down low. Nowadays, headcoach Panagiotis Giannakis is utilising the 2.10m big man as a pure inside player, asking him to do all the dirty work inside instead of waiting on the perimeter for open shot. Bouroussis is a decent inside defender, taking advantage of his huge wingspan to alter shots and possessing good movement for a big man. On offense, he is scoring on tip ins, putbacks, off the pick and roll and off dishes by the backcourt players. 14PPG without having any plays run for you? Bouroussis is definitely making the most out of his opportunities and looks like he is on his way in taking the next step towards reaching the European center elite. For that to ulitmately happen, he needs to stabilise his performances – no, not the point averages. He just needs to remain a beast inside and play as hard as he has done so far.

Below: Ioannis Bouroussis vs. Cibona on Youtube

Career Notes

Ioannis Bouroussis did swimming before starting to play basketball at the age of 18. The huge big man had six seasons at AEK Athens before joining Olympiacos in 2006. He won the European U20 championship in 2002 as well as the senior Eurobasket 2005, even if he was only a minor piece of the puzzle. He definitely is an established national team regular now, with old school lowpost presence Lazaros Papadopoulos having retired prior to the 2008 Olympics. Bouroussis is hoped to become the defensive part of a dominant center tandem together with the Utah Jazz’ Kosta Koufos in the future.