Athanasios "Thanasis" Skourtopoulos (alternate spelling: Thanassis) (Greek: Αθανάσιος "Θανάσης" Σκουρτόπουλος; born May 23, 1965) is a Greek professional basketball coach and a former professional basketball player. He is the current head coach for Astoria Bydgoszcz of the Polish Basketball League (PLK) and Qatar national team.
| Astoria Bydgoszcz | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | PLK |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 23, 1965 Athens, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Coaching career | 1996–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| Dafni Dafniou | |
| Pagrati | |
| 1982–1991 | AEK Athens |
| As coach: | |
| 1996–1998 | Aigaleo |
| 1998–1999 | Dafni Dafniou |
| 1999–2000 | OFI Crete |
| 2000–2005 | AEK Athens (Assistant) |
| 2005–2006 | Panellinios (Assistant) |
| 2006–2008 | Aigaleo |
| 2009–2010 | Peristeri |
| 2010–2011 | Panellinios |
| 2011–2012 | Ikaros Kallitheas |
| 2012 | Panionios |
| 2013–2014 | Keravnos |
| 2014–2016 | Rethymno |
| 2014–2017 | Greece (Assistant) |
| 2016–2017 | Apollon Patras |
| 2017–2018 | Faros Larissas |
| 2017–2021 | Greece |
| 2021 | Iraklis Thessaloniki |
| 2023–present | Astoria Bydgoszcz |
| 2023–present | Qatar |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As assistant coach:
| |
Club playing career
editSkourtopoulos played professional basketball with the Greek clubs Dafni Dafniou, Pagrati, and AEK Athens. He was a member of the AEK Athens team that made it to the Greek Cup Finals, in 1988.
Club coaching career
editSome of the clubs Skourtopoulos has been the head coach of include: Aigaleo, Peristeri, Panellinios,[1] Ikaros Kallitheas, Panionios, and Keravnos.[2] In 2014, he became the head coach of Rethymno.[3] In 2016, he became the head coach of Apollon Patras. In 2017, he became the head coach of GSL Faros.
On July 1, 2018, Skourtopoulits returned to Panionios.[4] He later quit without coaching the team in any games.
On February 4, 2023, he signed with Astoria Bydgoszcz of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[5]
National team coaching career
editSkourtopoulos worked as an assistant coach of the senior men's Greek national basketball team at the following tournaments: the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the EuroBasket 2015, the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the EuroBasket 2017.
He became the head coach of Greece's senior men's national team in October 2017. He first coached Greece at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. He also coached Greece at the actual 2019 FIBA World Cup. After the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the Hellenic Basketball Federation announced that Rick Pitino would be Greece's head coach at the 2020 FIBA Victoria Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2020 Summer Olympics, should Greece qualify, while Skourtopoulos would remain as Greece's head coach for the 2021 EuroBasket qualification tournament.
In August 2023, he became the head coach of the Qatar national team.[6]
Personal life
editSkourtopoulos failed to lead the senior Greek national basketball team to the results at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, in China, that many analysts, and sports media had predicted. Some major US sports media criticized his use of the MVP of the 2018–19 NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo at the tournament.[7]
Awards and accomplishments
editAssistant coach
edit- Greek Cup Winner: (2001)
- Greek League Champion: (2002)
References
edit- ^ Sport.gr Panellinios Announces Skourtopoulos (in Greek) Archived September 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Eurocupbasketball.com SKOURTOPOULOS, ATHANASIOS.
- ^ A1Basket.gr Thanasis Skourtopoulos is Rethymno Aegean's new coach.
- ^ Thanasis Skourtopoulos is the new head coach of Panionios.
- ^ "Nowy trener Enea Abramczyk Astorii". plk.pl (in Polish). February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ "Qatar sign new coach as busy schedule beckons Al Annabi". Gulf Times. 9 August 2023.
- ^ Greece’s coach, Skourtopoulos responds to US media criticism.