Iowa State men’s basketball: Georgios Tsalmpouris will play in European tournament
By Brian Spaen
Iowa State’s new 7-footer is going to playing in the FIBA U18 European Championships in Konya, Turkey, later this month.
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From the Cyclones.com official press release:
"Iowa State signee Georgios Tsalmpouris (George sal-BORE-us) has earned a spot on Greece’s U18 team which will be participating in the U18 European Championships in Konya, Turkey, July 24-August 3.The Greeks will face Bosnia and Herzegovina (July 24), Czech Republic (July 25) and Turkey (July 26) in pool play before starting tournament play on July 28."
It’s crazy to think that the Cyclones’ new big man that they could be relying on this season is 18 years old and will be throughout his freshman campaign. The tag, “U18”, could be a bit misleading. Even though it does mean “Under 18”, players that are at the age of 18 or younger are eligible for the event.
The two-week tournament will serve as a good scouting source to get more information on Tsalmpouris. Outside of a few videos and getting some stats from what he’s participated in, it’ll be great to see him in future competitive action and to see what he’s capable of at the moment.
Randy Peterson of the the Des Moines Register praises the inclusion of Tsalmpouris on the Greece team.
"Playing in the U-18 European Championships is a big deal. In 2000, for example, the French team included Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, who last month helped the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA championship."
For Cyclone fans, they have to find a creative way to keep Georgios and Georges separate. Despite their spellings, both of them are simply pronounced “George”.