GRE – Calathes champing at the bit to play for Greece again

ATHENS (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Nick Calathes is hoping to follow up his senior team debut with Greece at last year’s EuroBasket in Poland by competing for the national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

The Panathinaikos rookie played an important role for the Greeks off the bench last summer, helping Jonas Kazlauskas’ team win a bronze medal.

“I definitely see myself there, as a part of the Greek team,” Calathes said to FIBA.com.

“I will try to be a part of this.”

Calathes hails from Florida but his family’s roots are in Greece.

Both he and his older brother, Pat, a member of Athens outfit Maroussi, compete in the Greek top flight and also played in the Euroleague this season.

Calathes doesn't hesitate when asked which team he would like to face in Turkey if he does represent the national side for the second summer in a row.

“It’s a great opportunity and obviously the team would be USA,” he said.

“I know all the players. I played there my whole life and it would be a fun experience.

“Definitely this is the team I would most like to play.”

At the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, the Greeks upset Team USA 101-95 in the Semi-Finals but lost to Spain in the title game.

Calathes, who only turned 20 last month, averaged more than 17 minutes per game for the Greeks at EuroBasket 2009 year and had one of his best games against eventual champions Spain.

In that Semi-Final defeat, Calathes scored 10 points, pulled down four rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with two steals.

Before last season’s EuroBasket, Calathes was selected 45th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Draft.

The former point guard of the Florida Gators believes that by playing in Europe, he is now a better player.

“I think yes,” he said.

“I’ve learned a different kind of basketball, playing every day, without anything to worry about, just focusing on the basketball part of the game. I think this definitely makes you better. I spend a lot of time in the gym.”

As for what his expectations are regarding an NBA career, he said: “I can’t tell you anything about my future.

“I don’t know what will come up. But right now, I am focusing on the season and what’s coming next, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait to see.”

Greece will play Russia, China, Ivory Coast, Puerto Rico and hosts Turkey in the Preliminary Round in Ankara.

Jeff Taylor
FIBA