Kostas Petropoulos

Kostas Petropoulos
Personal information
Born	January 7, 1956 (age 68); Patras, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Listed height	6 ft 5.75 in (1.97 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1971–1987
Position	Shooting guard / Small forward
Number	7
Coaching career	1988–2005
Career history
As player:
1971–1987	Apollon Patras
As coach:
1988–1993	Greece Under-16
1988	Greece Under-17
1989	Greece Women's
1989–1993	Greece (assistant)
1991–1993	Peristeri
1993–1995	Apollon Patras
1996–1998	Sporting
1998–1999	Maroussi
1999–2001	Greece
2001–2002	Maroussi
2004–2005	Panellinios
Career highlights and awards
	As a player: 2× Greek 2nd Division champion (1976, 1979); No. 7 retired by Apollon Patras (2016);
Men's Basketball
Representing Greece
Mediterranean Games

Konstantinos "Kostas" Petropoulos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Πετρόπουλος) is a Greek former professional basketball coach, and a retired professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was nicknamed "Nureyev".^[1]^[2]^[3] His number 7 jersey was retired by Apollon Patras, in 2016.^[4] On 1 February 2020, the Kostas Petropoulos Indoor Hall basketball arena, was named after him, in his honor.^[5]^[6]

Professional career

During his pro club career, Petropoulos played basketball with the Greek club Apollon Patras, from 1971 to 1987. On 4 April 1976, in a Greek Second Division game between Apollon Patras and Agrinio, Petropoulos scored 93 points.^[7] On 11 January 1986, in a Greek First Division game between Apollon Patras and Ionikos Nikaias, Petropoulos scored 51 points.

After having six surgeries due to injuries, Petropoulos retired from playing pro club basketball in 1987, at the age of 31. Over his pro club career, Petropoulos scored a total of 4,255 points in Greece's top-tier level Basket League.

National team career

With Greece's junior national teams, Petropoulos played at the 1973 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship,^[8] and at the 1974 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.^[9]

Petropoulos was also a member of the senior men's Greek national team. He played in 77 games with Greece's senior national team.^[10] With Greece, he won the gold medal at the 1979 Mediterranean Games. He also played with Greece at the 1980 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and at the 1981 FIBA EuroBasket.^[11]

Coaching career

Clubs

After he finished his playing career, Petropoulos became a basketball coach. He acted as the head coach of the Greek clubs Apollon Patras, Sporting Athens, Maroussi Athens, and Panellinios Athens. He was a Greek Cup finalist with Maroussi in 2002.

Greek national team

Petropoulos was the head coach of the senior men's Greek national team, from 1999 to 2001. He was Greece's head coach at the 1999 FIBA EuroBasket and the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket.

References

External links

FIBA Archive Profile
Hellenic Basketball Federation Player Profile (in Greek)

[1] Κώστας Πετρόπουλος – Ο Νουρέγιεφ του ελληνικού μπάσκετ (in Greek).

[2] «Υποκλίνομαι Νουρέγιεφ»: Κώστας Πετρόπουλος…ο Μοναδικός! (in Greek).

[3] Κώστας Πετρόπουλος: Μετονομάστηκε το ιστορικό κλειστό της Πάτρας, μεγάλη τιμή για τον Νουρέγιεφ (in Greek).

[4] Οι θρυλικές φανέλες που έγιναν σημαίες και ανέβηκαν στον ιστό τους Οι σύλλογοι προέβησαν σε συμβολικές κινήσεις τιμώντας αθλητές που τους δόξασαν ή έφυγαν πρόωρα από τη ζωή.

[5] Όλοι στάθηκαν στην προσωπικότητα του "Νουρέγιεφ".

[6] "Κώστας Πετρόπουλος" μετονομάστηκε το κλειστό γυμναστήριο στο Κουκούλι

[7] Ο "Νουρέγιεφ" της Πάτρας (in Greek).

[8] 1973 European Championship for Cadets Greece 7 - Constantin Petropoulos.

[9] 1974 European Championship for Junior Men 7 - Kostas Petropoulos.

[10] ΠΕΤΡΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ ΚΩΣΤΑΣ ΑΝΔΡΩΝ 77 (in Greek).

[11] 1981 European Championship for Men 7 - Kostos Petropoulos.

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