HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL
Koufos real deal
Saturday, December 03, 2005 Tim Rogers
Plain Dealer Reporter
Memo to all high school basketball fans:
If you don't know it, remember the name Kosta Koufos. It is a name you should be hearing and reading frequently over the next two seasons.
The fans at Copley were introduced to Koufos and his GlenOak teammates - learning what Stark County fans have known for some time - on Friday as the 2005-06 season opened.
With Koufos leading the way, GlenOak pulled away in the second quarter and rolled to a 78-55 victory in a game that mirrored the differences between the Suburban League and the Federal League. The good news for Copley is that it won't be seeing many 7-1 juniors, which is what Koufos is, once it gets into the Suburban League portion of its schedule.
Not only is Koufos a legitimate 7-footer, he is a 7-footer who can put the ball on the floor, shoot the 3-pointer and execute a nifty spin move on his way to the basket.
In about 24 minutes of work, Koufos scored 33 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, had four assists, four blocked shots, one steal and an undetermined number of altered shots.
"He is good. I mean, he is really good," said Copley senior Jason Borchik. "Not only is he good facing the basket, but he hit some turnaround jumpers on us, too."
Koufos, 16, is almost too good to be true. He is an honor student. He addresses adults as "sir" or "ma'am." He speaks politely and eloquently. While people want to ask him about his game, he said he prefers to talk about the play of his team.
"It's a blessing when people want to talk to you about you, but basketball is a team game," he said. "I would prefer to talk about our team. Tonight, we played hard. We passed the ball well. We played good perimeter defense and we came in focused on what we needed to do."
Koufos' mother is a guidance counselor at GlenOak. His father, a pediatric oncologist, died several years ago.
College recruiters have been showing up in Stark County regularly for the past year. Scouts from Illinois and Kentucky were in attendance at Copley, and Louisville will watch GlenOak's game at Massillon Jackson on Tuesday. It won't be the first time they have seen him, and it certainly won't be the last.
"Who knows what his potential is?" said GlenOak coach Jack Greynolds Jr. "He is a big man who works on each and every facet of his game, from ball-handling to shooting to post moves. He loves the game. He makes 100 3-point shots every day after practice."
Despite the lopsided loss, Copley figures to challenge for the Suburban League title, bolstered by a strong junior class. One of those juniors, guard Matt Warren, finished with 26 points. Coach Dana Addis was not discouraged.
"We chose to play this game to get us ready for the Suburban League," he said. "It would not have done us any good to bring in a cupcake and win by 40 and then hope to go out and beat Barberton next week. We learned what we needed to learn. We'll be here at 9 a.m. on Sunday watching tape."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
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