“Bartzokas is meek and noble, it has nothing to do with what he shows”

Its former president Olympia Larisa and the current Team Manager of A.O. Mykonos, George Malakoswas hosted on EEC Web Radio, where he spoke about George Bartzokaswho had taken over the Thessalian team, in his first job as head coach at A1 level.

George Malakos said:

About his relationship with Giorgos Bartzokas: “We have been friends with George for 53 years. We were roommates in Marousi, we lived in the same apartment building, he on the 2nd floor, me on the 3rd. We are childhood friends. Back then, elementary school wasn’t like it is now, first and second grade were together and we sat at the same desk. Grew up together”.

For being a coach at Olympia Larisa: “When we took over Olympia, George came to all the matches. In general, his opinion on basketball and its development was “to the point”. Everything he told me about basketball, my team, in general, I accepted, he had a very good judgment. When the matter of a coach was brought up to us and given that, in addition to our very good relationship, our philosophy was to give the philosophy to young people, I told him to take over Olympia as the first coach and that’s how he came. You give the opportunity to many, the question is who are worthy to take advantage of it. Based on the result, he was very worthy, he “grabbed” the opportunity by the hair, he came out the best coach of the season, he brought out many new players. The path we took then was unique.”

For coach Giorgos Bartzokas: “Besides his very good view of basketball, he is also very hardworking. He is also terribly humble, that is his character. And what he sometimes brings out with his irritation is the extreme deafness he has as a human being. Always Bartzokas, in contrast to many of his colleagues, the player choices he makes are excellent and are always “value for money”. A typical example is Matt Walsh, a player who “took out his eyes”. I believe in terms of basketball that, compared to his other colleagues who have a much bigger budget, he is a little underrated.”

About Giorgos Bartzokas as a person: “The word I could say is that he is meek, it has nothing to do with what he shows. In moments of tension in the life of every person, a wrong way can come to him. This is 100% true in Bartzokas. He is a gentle man, a very giving man, noble and not ungrateful. He has a sense of humor and the most important thing is that he respects and appreciates people for who they are.”