Giorgos Kolokithas

Giorgos Kolokithas
Personal information
Born (1945-11-02)November 2, 1945
Greece
Died March 2, 2013(2013-03-02) (aged 67)
Greece
Nationality Greek
Listed height 6 ft 6.75 in (2.00 m)
Position Power forward
Career history
?–1965 Sporting
1965–1972 Panathinaikos
Career highlights and awards

Giorgos Kolokithas (alternate spelling: Kolokythas; Greek: Γεώργιος (Γιώργος) Κολοκυθάς; November 2, 1945 – March 2, 2013[1]) was a Greek professional basketball player. He was considered to be one of the best scorers and players in Greek basketball history.[2] He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.

Club career

Kolokithas played in his club career for Sporting and Panathinaikos. While playing with Panathinaikos, he won 4 Greek League championships (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972). He scored a total of 3,529 points in the Greek League, having a personal record game of 51 points. In 1964, 1966, and 1967, he was the Greek League Top Scorer.

In European club competition, he reached with Panathinaikos, the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1969, and the semi-finals of the European Champions' Cup in 1972. He was a member of the FIBA European Selection in 1970. He retired at age 28, after suffering a knee injury.[3]

Greek national team

Kolokithas played in 90 games with the Greek national team and scored 1,807 points. He had 25 caps in FIBA EuroBasket games, and he scored 492 points (19.7 per game) in those games. At FIBA EuroBasket 1967, he was the Top Scorer of the tournament, scoring 206 points (22.9 per game). At FIBA EuroBasket 1969, he repeated his success, being the Top Scorer of the tournament, with 159 points (22.7 per game).

In 1971, Kolokithas retired from the Greek national squad, scoring in his last game, 35 points against Scotland's national team. He later became the president of all the Greek national teams, and the vice-president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

Greek national team

Death

Kolokithas died, after suffering a heart attack, on March 2, 2013.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Greek basketball is mourning the death of legend Kolokithas, article on Euroleague.net, March 02, 2013.
  2. ↑ Sport24.gr "'Εφυγε" από την ζωή ο Γιώργος Κολοκυθάς (Greek).
  3. ↑ Sport24.gr Ο θρυλικός "μύτος" Γιώργος Κολοκυθάς (Greek).
  4. ↑ Greek basketball is mourning the death of legend Kolokithas, article on Euroleague.net, March 02, 2013.
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