GRE - Koufos: Honor to play with Bourousis, Fotsis, Zisis

ATHENS (Eurobasket) - Greece's chances of finishing among the top six at EuroBasket 2011 and remaining alive for the 2012 Olympics in London will rely heavily on the performance of young center Kostas Koufos, who sees it an honor to play with the remaining Greek veterans.

Without centers Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek head coach Ilias Zouros will need a strong showing from the 22-year-old NBA center Koufos.

"For me, I just want to bring energy on the court," said the Denver Nuggets big man.

"Whether it's defensively or offensively I feel very confident that when given time I can produce at both ends. But most importantly is to get as many wins as possible."

Koufos - one of four players born in 1989 or 1990 for Greece - is playing at his second EuroBasket but still looks up to the remaining Greek internationals who won the 2005 title - Ioannis Bourousis, Antonios Fotsis and Nikos Zisis.

"We're young but at the same time the young guys can contribute to the team. It's an honor to play with Bourousis, Fotsis, Zisis and those guys because they have wonderful experience in the years before us. We learn from them and there is a good combination of veterans and young guys, it's a complete puzzle," said Koufos.

The other younger players are Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou. 

"That group is in my opinion one of the top classes in a long time. We have all shown what we can do on the court with our teams professionally. And we are the future," said Koufos.

The NBA big man also would love to play next summer in London.

"It's definitely a dream for me and for all of us, especially the younger guys coming in. I feel like we're confident enough and have enough talent on the team where we can go far in the European Championship. God willing we play well and we just have to play hard every day," concluded Koufos.

Greece will play Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia in Group C.
 

FIBA