[Buckskin86]

August 4, 2008
Sarikopoulos wins gold
Ohio State transfer Zisis Sarikopoulos, who was Kosta Koufos? teammate when Greece won the silver medal last year in the European 18-and-under championships, won a gold Sunday.

Greece won the tournament for the first time with a 57-50 victory over Lithuania. Sarikopoulos had eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in the title game.

?This is an amazing feeling,? he was quoted as saying on the tournament Web site. ?We played great defense and it's an honor to win this gold medal, especially after missing out on it last year.?

Sarikopoulos, whose transfer to Ohio State from UAB was announced in July, averaged 10.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots in eight games. He shot 56.7 percent from the field and ranked second in blocked shots and fourth in offensive rebounds.

Sarikopoulos will be able practice with the Buckeyes when he enrolls for fall quarter but will not be eligible to play until the 2009-10

Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog