Canton GlenOak High School (Canton, OH)

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Players of Interest:

Kosta Koufos

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Don’t overlook Koufos, Eagles
Monday, November 28, 2005 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td>By Chris Beaven REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER</td></tr></tbody> </table>
PLAIN TWP. - With a state champion just down the road, it would be easy to overlook the GlenOak Golden Eagles.
It would be a big mistake.
GlenOak enters the season eager to build on last year’s 18-5 season with 7-foot-1 junior Kosta Koufos leading the way.
“We’ve got quite a few kids back from last year,” GlenOak High School head boys coach Jack Greynolds Jr. said. “We’ve got a couple JV kids who moved up, and I feel pretty good about it. We have a good basketball IQ. Our kids play a lot of basketball on their own, and they kind of know the nuances of the game.”
Greynolds knows the game well. He learned it from his father, the late Jack Greynolds Sr., who won a state title at Barberton in 1976. And he has built his own successful career at Rootstown, Tallmadge and Buchtel before coming to GlenOak in 2003.
“I feel like these are my kids now,” Greynolds said. “I’ve been here for most of these kids’ careers. I’ve got real good relationships with them now. I feel comfortable this year.”
His comfort level rises knowing that Koufos enters his second year as a starter having grown 3 inches.
“He had a great summer,” Greynolds said. “He weighs about 240 pounds. He works out every day and has routines, and he does weightlifting.”
Koufos averaged 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per game last season. He had a great showing at a national camp, which made him one of the most coveted juniors nationally.
Ask Greynolds what schools are recruiting his big man, and the coach answers, “Whoever you can think of.”
That includes Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Syracuse and Connecticut.
“They’re all on him pretty hard,” Greynolds said.
What’s even more remarkable is colleges are recruiting him as a forward, not a center, because of his skills.
“He just keeps growing as a player,” Greynolds said.
Koufos needs to continue to get more consistent. His coach believes that will happen.
“He’s a kid that eats, sleeps and breaths it,” Greynolds said. “It’s going to pay off.”
And it will pay off for GlenOak, which has a strong supporting cast around Koufos.
Senior guards Errick McCollum and Nate West return. McCollum averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 assists per game. West was a steady sixth man. Senior guard Mark Moore transfers in from Heritage Christian, where he averaged 15 points per game. Two other varsity newcomers are junior guard Mark Quinn and senior forward Brian Powell.
“You can’t have one stud and think you’re going to beat everyone,” Greynolds said. “You have to have four other starters, and two or three guys off the bench that can serve you. And you have to be focused and consistent every night.”
Greynolds thinks this team can do that. Of course, like the rest of the league, GlenOak must deal with defending state champion McKinley. Greynolds knows the Bulldogs will be outstanding.
“I think our kids look at it as a privilege to play them at least once a year, and possibly three times,” he said.
Last year, three of GlenOak’s five losses came to McKinley. The Bulldogs won easily the first two times, but the Eagles gave them a tough tournament game before losing, 51-42.
“We’ll approach them with confidence and respect, and you might knock them off on a certain night,” Greynolds said. “But it’s going to be hard to do.”
GlenOak will not be preoccupied with McKinley. The Eagles have added Detroit Country Day and Cleveland Heights to their schedule.
“We’re going to take them as they come,” Greynolds said. “... It’s a challenge to see where you are at the end of the year. I kind of look at like an artist working with a block of wood.
“You chip away at it, and it either looks like a beauty or a piece of garbage. You hope when you chip away, you make the right chips and hopefully you’ll have a good product by the end of the year.”

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GlenOak's schedule....

Federal League
GlenOak
Date Opponent Time
Fri., Dec. 2 at Copley 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 3 Cleveland South 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 16 at Jackson 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 17 at Hoops for Healing TBA
Tue., Dec. 20 McKinley
(at Civic Center) 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 23 at Lake 7:30 p.m.
Thu., Dec. 29 vs. Wadsworth
at Jack Greynolds Memorial
Classic, Barberton 8:30 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 6 Boardman 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 13 at Fitch 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 14 Jackson 7:30 p.m.
Tue., Jan. 17 Massillon 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 20 Perry 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 28 Detroit Country Day 6 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 3 at Hoover 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 4 at Cleveland Heights 7:30 p.m.
Tue., Feb. 7 Federal League Tournament TBA
Sat., Feb. 11 Federal League Tournament TBA
Fri., Feb. 17 or
Sat., Feb. 18 Federal League Tournament TBA
Tue., Feb. 21 at St. Thomas Aquinas 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 24 at Louisville 7:30 p.m.

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11/28/05

GlenOak Golden Eagles

Head coach Jack Greynolds Jr., third season, 32-13.

Last year’s record 18-5, 4-3.

Returning lettermen Errick McCollum, Sr., 6-0, guard; Nate West, Sr., 6-4, forward; Kosta Koufos, Jr., 7-1, center; Mark Moore, Sr., 5-11, guard; Mark Quinn, Jr., 5-7, guard.

Top newcomers Brian Powell, Sr., 6-3, forward; Stefan Mueller, Sr., 6-11, center.

About the Golden Eagles If anybody has a chance to compete with McKinley in the Federal League, it’s GlenOak. The 7-foot-1 Koufos is ready for a spectacular year. Moore, a Heritage Christian transfer, gives the Eagles a dangerous point guard. McCollum’s shooting will spread the floor.

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12/3/05

GlenOak 78, Copley 55

COPLEY Kosta Koufos scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a road win over Copley.

Nate West finished with 13 points, while Errick McCollum added 12 for GlenOak.
As a team, the Golden Eagles knocked down eight 3-pointers in the game.

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12/4/05

GlenOak 83,
Cleveland South 43

PLAIN TWP. Kosta Koufos scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as GlenOak won for the second straight night.

Errick McCollum chipped in with 15 points while Nate West added 12 for the Golden Eagles.
GlenOak outscored Cleveland South 48-16 in the first half, including 30-6 in the second quarter.

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12/7/05

High school boys basketball: ‘Flat’ GlenOak still gets a win
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 By Chris Beaven repository sports wRITER

Repository Scott Heckel BLOCK PARTY GlenOak High School junior Kosta Koufos prepares to swat away a shot by Jackson’s Zack Fedorka in Tuesday’s second quarter. The 7-foot-1 Koufos blocked five shots and scored 18 points in leading GlenOak to a 64-50 win.

JACKSON TWP. - When Jack Greynolds heard “overrated” chants shouted at his team Tuesday night, the GlenOak High School boys basketball coach thought one thing.

“They were right,” Greynolds said.

The Golden Eagles also proved good enough to win even when they were far from their best. They improved to 3-0 by winning, 64-50, at Jackson despite their coach thinking they came out emotionally flat.

“It’s a victory,” Greynolds said. “That’s about all you can say. ... Jackson definitely outplayed, outsmarted, outcoached, outhustled and out-everythinged us.”

Still, Greynolds said GlenOak, “did enough to get a win.”
What the Eagles did just enough of was exploit their two biggest advantages — 7-foot-1 Kosta Koufos inside and their quick assortment of guards outside.

Koufos, a junior, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
“It seemed like whenever they needed it, Kosta did it for them,” Jackson head coach Mike Fuline said.

GlenOak guards Errick McCollum, Mark Quinn and Mark Moore each came up with three steals apiece. McCollum also scored 15 points. Quinn, Moore and Nate West combined for another 23 points. Eight points also came from Brian Powell off the bench.

“We did play hard,” Greynolds said.

The Polar Bears (1-1) led by as much as 24-18 midway through the second quarter. They did everything their first-year coach wanted, but make enough plays to pull off the upset.

“What we’re really concentrating on is our effort,” Fuline said. “We want to play hard and intense on both sides of the floor. I think we did that for 32 minutes, but we lost it mentally for about four minutes. And against a great team and a well-coached team, that’s the result.”

GlenOak took charge with a 10-0 run over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half. A 3-pointer by Moore started the run, and three other Eagles scored. They never trailed again.

The Eagles pushed their lead to 44-36 after three quarters, and to double-digits early in the fourth. Jackson got as close as 57-50 entering the final two minutes before GlenOak closed on a 7-0 run.

“Our guys wanted it,” Fuline said. “They played with a lot of desire. ... We’re going to keep getting better every day, and hopefully the scoreboard will take care of itself.”

Curtis Murphy led Jackson with 16 points. Mark Young added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bears play again Friday when Walsh Jesuit visits them. GlenOak is off until a trip to Indiana next week to play Mishawaka Penn, a well-regarded team in that state.

Greynolds does not want to see another flat performance.

“If we do that next Saturday we’re going to get drilled,” he said. “... We’ve got to get a lot better because we’ve got a long ways to go.” Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail: chris.beaven@cantonrep.com