Georgios Papagiannis
- Thread starter VF21
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While shopping at Emigh’s Ace Hardware store in Sacramento yesterday I noticed Papa [who looked two feet taller than anyone else in the store] and a white haired older man sporting a green tee-shirt with the Sacramento Kings logo. This older man might be his father and also in the group might be Papa’s kid brother looking an athletic 14 and sporting a Jesuit tee. Georgios wore a plain no logo tee. Anyways, like a star struck fan I walked up and asked if he was Georgios and he said yes. I shook his hand bumbling I was a big fan and everyone likes his game and we’re looking forward to the start of the coming season. He said thank you and I then walked away. As I was paying for my items Georgios group was just leaving when the cashier looking at the older man's tee-shirt asked if he played for the Sacramento Kings and he said no and pointing to Georgios sad “He does”. As they left the Cashier asked who was that? Naturally, being a Kings Fan I blurted out in rapid succession His name is Georgios Papagiannis a rookie center on the Sacramento kings, he played very well the latter half of the season, all fans are anxiously waiting for next season to see the improvements to his game,, he’s only 19 and should be a top player for many years to come. I paused to take a breath said “have a good day” and left.
Man, when the Gasol parallels end?
(Pau brought a fat, chubby Marc along with him to Memphis, where he played high school basketball before heading back to Spain. Memphis of course got the last laugh when they traded Pau for rights to his brother and Marc wound up turning into the best player in Grizzlies history.)
(Pau brought a fat, chubby Marc along with him to Memphis, where he played high school basketball before heading back to Spain. Memphis of course got the last laugh when they traded Pau for rights to his brother and Marc wound up turning into the best player in Grizzlies history.)
http://basketa.gr/ψηλά-την-ελληνική-σημαία/
2nd Blog Post by PapaG a few days ago (again the link is for pics/videos only, unless you are greek or for some other mysterious reason you learned greek
)
nothing really interesting, he basically says that when he returned to the US, he went to Philadelphia for a few days.
A place he knows well, as he spent a year as a student there, and he still is in touch with a lot of friends and coaches.
Despite having some spare days before his official Sacramento Schedule, he spent some days training (there is a nice instagram video inside showcasing his ball handling and mobility and some photos). He trained twice a day at 7am and 6pm.
He didn't have a chance to climb the "Rocky" stairs as they were under construction/repair, but he has done many times in the past and said that Rocky III is one of his all time favorite movies.
He went back to Sacramento and on Tuesday 5/16, he started his official training schedule with the teammates.
Then he mentions a few things about the Euroleague and that he will post again after MANY trainings.
2nd Blog Post by PapaG a few days ago (again the link is for pics/videos only, unless you are greek or for some other mysterious reason you learned greek
)nothing really interesting, he basically says that when he returned to the US, he went to Philadelphia for a few days.
A place he knows well, as he spent a year as a student there, and he still is in touch with a lot of friends and coaches.
Despite having some spare days before his official Sacramento Schedule, he spent some days training (there is a nice instagram video inside showcasing his ball handling and mobility and some photos). He trained twice a day at 7am and 6pm.
He didn't have a chance to climb the "Rocky" stairs as they were under construction/repair, but he has done many times in the past and said that Rocky III is one of his all time favorite movies.
He went back to Sacramento and on Tuesday 5/16, he started his official training schedule with the teammates.
Then he mentions a few things about the Euroleague and that he will post again after MANY trainings.
This article is a few weeks old but I just read it for the first time yesterday:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/kings/papagiannis-carving-out-niche-focusing-one-undervalued-skill
Essentially it focuses on Papagiannis setting good, solid screens. As someone who coached kids for years, it's one aspect of the game that really isn't given enough attention. Look at what happened in Portland when Nurkic came in. He set great screens for Lillard & McCollum and rolled hard to the hoop and it really opened things up. Add in his work as an interior defender and you can see why he made such a big difference.
Papagiannis can be a very effective player if he keeps focusing on the little things.
http://www.csnbayarea.com/kings/papagiannis-carving-out-niche-focusing-one-undervalued-skill
Essentially it focuses on Papagiannis setting good, solid screens. As someone who coached kids for years, it's one aspect of the game that really isn't given enough attention. Look at what happened in Portland when Nurkic came in. He set great screens for Lillard & McCollum and rolled hard to the hoop and it really opened things up. Add in his work as an interior defender and you can see why he made such a big difference.
Papagiannis can be a very effective player if he keeps focusing on the little things.
As I said in the game thread... Dude showed legit potential in REAL LIFE NBA GAMES! I don't care if the teams were in tank mode, the competition and level of play in a meaningless NBA game is so far beyond that of the summer league. He'll be fine.
Will he be Marc Gasol this season? No. Is he now a bust that will languish in the GLeague before going back to Greece? Hell No!
Would I rather have him, Bogdan, and Skal over Criss? Hell yes!
Will he be Marc Gasol this season? No. Is he now a bust that will languish in the GLeague before going back to Greece? Hell No!
Would I rather have him, Bogdan, and Skal over Criss? Hell yes!
I just want Papa to bring some force on the defensive and offensive end. For example, at the very beginning of the Suns' game the Kings tried to post him up and the Suns had a much smaller player on him. The Suns player was holding him with his arms from getting the position that he needed. Papa needs to rip those arms out of their sockets if a guy is doing that. No way should a guy much smaller do that to him. And on the defensive end his fundamentals seemed awful to me. When the Suns Jackson was driving to the basket Papa was lurching "forward" like he was going to swipe the ball away or something. I expect Papa to be much better than last year. Everybody should. ZBO should really help this kid, and I'm hoping he's all over him to get better, and when need be, supporting him and giving him confidence. The coaching staff and Papa need to step it up and have this guy in unbelievable shape for the beginning of the season, both physically and mentally.
A fan elsewhere who was in attendance stated Papa really let the whistles get to him. After his 6th foul he went to the bench and was very upset. Buddy and especially Harry went and calmed him down.
Understandable if he was upset it will affect his game. Just another aspect of the game he will need to improve upon with time and maturity. That goaltending call was also BS.
Understandable if he was upset it will affect his game. Just another aspect of the game he will need to improve upon with time and maturity. That goaltending call was also BS.
A fan elsewhere who was in attendance stated Papa really let the whistles get to him. After his 6th foul he went to the bench and was very upset. Buddy and especially Harry went and calmed him down.
Understandable if he was upset it will affect his game. Just another aspect of the game he will need to improve upon with time and maturity. That goaltending call was also BS.
Understandable if he was upset it will affect his game. Just another aspect of the game he will need to improve upon with time and maturity. That goaltending call was also BS.
Well I know I saw at least one whistle because Papa fouled Josh Jackson's fro
Whether the call is good or bad, not letting it take him off his game is all I want him to worry about. Also, Buddy and Harry working to calm him is another good sign.
I have mentioned before how great it is going to be for these guys to bond and grow as a team.
