By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Greek forward Nikos Rogkavopoulos was considered for many years among the top European NBA prospects of the 2001 generation. While he didn’t get many minutes this year in the senior team of AEK, a contender both in the Greek League and the Basketball Champions League, Rogkavopoulos decided to enter the draft and he believes that he can get noticed via workouts, when and if they are permitted.
As he said to Eurohoops: “First of all, we have to get over the COVID-19 pandemic, and then when I can participate in workouts, I want to go to the States and fight for my chances. The truth is that at this point we don’t know when this can be done. But we will be there. That’s my plan, I am counting on the workouts. I didn’t get a lot of attention until now this season, but I believe in myself. I believe that the younger I get drafted and the younger I get to the NBA, the better it would be for my improvement”.
Rogkavopoulos played at the Jordan Brand Classic’s International Game in 2017 and in 2016 he passed the interest of Real Madrid, in order to remain in Greece. In 2017, he moved to AEK, signing a six-year contract that includes NBA outs. He has been a member of the junior national teams of Greece and in the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship Division B, he won the gold medal. He was also named the MVP of the tournament, averaging 18.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
A versatile and talented player, Rogkavopoulos thinks that he has the work ethic to make a big jump in his career: “The truth is that I don’t know if this going to be easy or not. However, I am not the guy who takes everything easy and doesn’t care. I try to find my weaknesses, to improve and always take a step up. I don’t care about the past, I don’t dwell on it. If I am healthy, I think that I would deserve to be in the NBA, because of my work, my mentality and my love for the game. I think that I will prove that I belong there”.