Mitrou-Long, from Nazareth to Piraeus

Didn’t Olympiakos become a branch of Zalgiris? Don’t be bored, I’m joking, even if sometimes the joke isn’t far from… hybrid reality!

In order not to be misunderstood, I would like to clarify that my comment only refers to the fact that there are currently three players in the Piraeus squad who have worn the jersey of the Lithuanian team!

That’s what we call a village!

Tomas Walkup is in his third season at Olympiakos, Ignas Brazdeikis joined the red squad two months ago and Naz Mitrou-Long has taken over to complete the trio.

Brazdeikis and Mitrou-Long didn’t catch walkup in Zalgiris, while both, who also hold Canadian citizenship, had a brief and rather… symbolic symbiosis in Kaunas.

The hustle and bustle in Nicosia and the Zalgiris locker room

Nicosia is also to blame for everything, because there, on September 23 last year, on the sidelines of the Olympiacos-Zalgiris match as part of the tournament in memory of Neophytos Handriotis, whispers began about the transfer announced the next day, and indeed they came Brazdeikis arrived in Greece almost at the same time as the mission!

Brazdeikis had not played in the two games of the tournament, while Mitrou-Long had 12 points (3/3 d., 2.7 tr.), five rebounds in the September 22 game in which Olympiacos defeated Zalgiris 75-72 and four “wrote.” Steals, one steal and three turnovers in 22 minutes and 46 seconds.

I’m laughing now as I write this, but Christos Bafes and Antonis Katsikis should be careful on Friday, so Walkup, Brazdeikis and Mitrou-Long get mixed up and turn to the visiting team’s locker room…

The reason;

The day after tomorrow Olympiacos welcomes Zalgiris, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if his three exes met!

Walkup and the two young women national nominations

Am the other one?

Two of them, in addition to playing time and roles in similar positions, may also claim a place in the national team as naturalized if the son of Trinidad’s Jersey Long and Sparta’s Georgia Mitrou receives the Greek passport.

By the way, Mitrou-Long could have played for the Canadian national team, but since this was not the case at the 2021 pre-Olympic tournament, he may be made available to Vassilis Spanoulis if deemed appropriate.

And he, as well as his brother Elaiza, who has been living in Greece for several years and, after PAOK, Apollon and Aris, is competing in Peristeri this year.

Tsalbouris and Katsikaris

Behold then (not…Jesus, but) Mitrou-Long of Nazareth!

The newcomer to the Olympic Guard is named Naz, which comes from his baptismal name (Nazaret), and beyond his family connections, he began playing Greek basketball at an early age.

Many and even doubles, since in college (Iowa State) he had a teammate with Giorgos Tsalbouris, while in the NBA (Utah Jazz) he was coached by Fotis Katsikaris as an assistant coach to Quin Snyder.

“We were close for a season, we became friends and are in frequent contact,” George Tsalbouris told me some time ago, whom I saw in Glasgow, where Bilbao are playing the Gladiators in a FIBA ​​European Cup game tonight.

“He is a great boy, very nice, always smiling and that will help him settle in immediately,” continues the international center.

Of course, as Vassilis Goumas used to say: “If he’s a good boy, I’ll make him consul with my sister, the question is what kind of smoke rises in basketball”!

Two became one

So here is the… scouting report from Tsalbouris, which of course is not limited to the 2014-15 season, after all he makes sure to follow the progress of his former teammate…

• “In college he played shooting guard, he was our shooter and even performed very well in off-screen situations. Over time I notice that he has become more inconsistent, but offense is in his DNA,” comments Tsalbouris.
• “He can prepare his teammates with passes and at the same time he trusts his instincts a lot in attack. He wants to shoot and score, but of course that depends on the coach’s plan and the roles in the team.”
• “Defensively he’s not lazy and I see him lowering his body and applying pressure and of course I see his game has matured.”

Maturity in decisions

I’m intrigued by this latest conversation from Tsalbouris, because Giorgos Bartzokas indeed wants to see the newly acquired guard’s mature game…

Mitro-Long’s image is that of a guard who tends to play too much with his instincts and thus master the situations that arise in the game.

The so-called offensive player is able to create in pick-and-roll phases and see good passes.

So it remains to be seen how quickly and effectively he will adapt and respond to Olympiakos’ style, especially in terms of handling situations and, above all, in terms of making mature and quality decisions.

Mitrou-Long is considered more of a playmaker than a playmaker, and there is a delicate point here: how he behaves and what reactions he will have in pressure situations so that he does not become disorganized.

Weather and driver, as we say in such cases …

Déjà vu with the Hines brothers

Oh, lest I forget: with the takeover of Mitro-Long, Olympiacos and Peristeri will experience the déjà vu of the 2012-13 season…

What I mean;

At that time, the European champions had Kyle Hynes in their ranks, while his four-year-younger brother Tyler, who had the same boy (1.98 m) and the same Hui, competed for the “Princes of the West Bank”. ..

He also insisted on playing in the middle, at worst with four!

Naz of Piraeus and Elaiza of Peristeri have a difference in age of three years and six points in height…

Luckily for Bartzokas and Spanoulis, neither of them want to play center!