The year of Flionis’ basketball maturity

Dimitris Flionis is not a child. He is 25 years old. He is not an inexperienced player. This year, however, another player shows up. And those who hadn’t realized that until now surely understood it when they watched the 2nd semi-final of the Greek Cup Final Four, where he was one of the leaders of AEK in the 76-70 loss to Olympiakos.

Flionis went into the game dynamically from the start. He was ordered to attack situations one on one. And he did just that, finishing the game on 18 points with 5/9 two points, 2/5 three points, 2/2 shots, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 3 steals in 36 minutes of attendance.

By the end of the game, AEK returned from -18 but was defeated, and the absence of four shooting guards (Angola, Rautins, Pappas, Langford) left them with a question mark as to what could be done. At the same time, there was no question mark as to what he achieved with Flionis.

change in its DNA

Flionis has consistently competed in the Stoiximan Basket League since the age of 19. From the age of 20 he had a permanent role on Mars. However, his profile was clear: Consistent defender, good organizer, does not make mistakes, but cautious in attack. This prevented him from taking the step up. And he’s trying to change that at AEK this year.

This season, Flionis has averaged 6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists with 36.7% on three-pointers in 24-minute participation. Last year, in his final season on Mars, he had 5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21 minutes of attendance. The change in numbers is not large. But his image is completely different.

On Mars, Flionis had the special role of the “water carrier”. The point guard, who primarily lowers the ball and organizes play before passing it to a teammate, has few opportunities to create and execute. At AEK, however, his role is different. The Thessaloniki guard has more time with the ball and is required to take initiatives.

Stefanos Dedas has tried to change Flionis’ DNA this year. Convince him to be more aggressive. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes not. Against Olympiacos, on the other hand, people saw the best version of the 25-year-old guard. “I’m also proud of Flionis, not because of his defense or his dedication, but because I convinced him before the game to play at the level of Wokap or Larentzakis, because creatively Sloukas is at a better level. I’m trying to show the world that these kids have shots and decisions to make. It is not possible for Greek players to be Rolistas. I’m trying but I can’t solve it alone” said the coach of AEK after the game and wanted to continue to encourage the international guard.

Ready for the next step

In a season where the word “problem” is associated with AEK, Flionis seems to be his biggest win. The “Union” believed in him, persuaded him to sign, gave him a bigger role and remained true to its commitments. At the same time, it was very important that Flionis himself seemed willing to change his DNA a bit in a new environment, having decided to step out of his comfort zone and leave Mars. His call to the men’s national team for FIBA’s “windows” just days ago was definitely the justification for his efforts.

Flionis suddenly got tutoring this year at the age of 25. He was prompted to switch roles, become more aggressive, which often showed he jumped at the opportunity. But now it’s time to take the next step in its evolution. To realize that appearances like this against Olympiacos cannot be a flash in the pan, but the norm. It will be neither easy nor easy. But it’s something he needs to do to eventually find out what his true ceiling is.