The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki announced that the Nikos Galis will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate TEFAA on May 2, a proclamation that had been scheduled for March 3 but had been postponed due to national mourning for the tragedy of Tempo.
The great Greek athlete is honored with the award ceremony for his outstanding contribution to sports and culture, as well as for the valuable services he offered to society.
The path to the top
Nikos Galis was born on July 23, 1957 in New Jersey, USA. The son of Greek immigrants, he grew up and studied at Seaton Hall University (Seaton Hall University, NJ) in the USA. He is considered one of the leading Greek athletes of the modern era and an undisputed reformer of basketball and Greek sports in general.
His consistently high athletic performance was the result of a combination of his individual characteristics and his belief in scientific support to achieve his goals. Nikos Galis, due to his perfectionism and professionalism, adopted scientific practices in a unique way, at a time when myths surrounding sports and training flourished.
His athletic training became a reference of good practice described by the most advanced theories of athletic training in the scientific literature. He used different trajectories on the ball according to the principles of biomechanics and by exploiting his biokinetic, physical characteristics, he overcame the obstacle of taller opponents he faced in matches. He developed his motor control to aim perfectly even in critical moments, as well as in conditions of high fatigue. He maintained the appropriate psychological state, composure, level of psychological arousal and level of self-concentration, regardless of the criticality of the moment and the match. When his fellow athletes finished training, Nikos Galis continued, even using resistance exercises.
In the 80’s, Nikos Galis, realizing the importance of the physical and psychological condition, as well as the technique – tactics, created with calculated fidelity a versatile model athlete. His career is marked by numerous individual and team titles and records, many of which still stand today. He is the top scorer in the history of the Greek Championship, as well as in all European club competitions of all time. He has been recognized as the greatest European scorer of all time by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
In 2007 he became the first Greek basketball player to be inducted into the FIBA ​​Hall of Fame and in 2017 into the US Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, thus entering the “pantheon” of world basketball. The successes he achieved with his teams and the Greek National Team, had a significant social impact since people of all ages, but especially young people and children, having him as a role model, turned to sports, loved basketball and adopted the sports lifestyle.
He managed, in a period when sport was mainly amateur, to stand out, highlighting professional attitudes and standards, worthy of admiration and recognition. He also achieved what few athletes in his category could: to be universally recognized and loved, even by opponents, to be universally glorified and to leave a significant legacy to a people.
“The modest and humble behavior of such a prominent man to this day is an example to be imitated and defines the difference between the temporal and the timeless. Nikos Galis, at every opportunity, shows his socially responsible attitude towards the daily problems of society and the city where he lives and continues to offer whenever he is asked”, highlights the AUTH in a statement.
Source: Sport Fm
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