Future looks bright for Olympiacos

As Georgios Bartzokas looks to put Olympiacos back on track in the EuroLeague, the club’s youth ranks could plot the path back to glory for the Erythrolefki.

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As European basketball remains suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s hard not to look at what the future holds for the sport when the entire continent can return to normalcy.

Although there is more uncertainty with each passing day over what will be made of the 2019/2020 season, Georgios Bartzokas’ task as Olympiacos head coach remains the same. Brought in as a replacement midway through the season, Bartzokas’ first task in his second stint in Olympiacos hot seat is to steer the club back to success on the domestic and European fronts.

It’s no coincidence that Olympiacos have chosen an experienced hand to usher in a new era for the club, especially as the nucleus of the roster continues to get older. Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis remain the leaders of the club, but the emergence of talent from the club’s youth ranks is what has fans excited heading into 2020/2021 and beyond.

Olympiacos’ relegation from the Basket League as a result of the forfeiture of their playoff series with Panathinaikos was certainly a blow to attracting top talent on the international transfer market. But the club’s decision to establish a developmental team, known as Olympiacos B Development Team, has helped push alone prospects with competitive action in the second tier of Greek basketball.

Prior to the season being suspended, Olympiacos B sat second in the A2 Basket League with a 17-4 record and on a pace to qualify for the promotion playoffs. Although it remains to be seen what will happen with Olympiacos’ protest to have international referees designated for the hotly-contested games in the Greek top flight, the benefits of the protest can be seen in the Erythrolefki’s youth ranks.

 Young talents like Aleksej Pokusevski and Alexandros Nikolaidis are expected to be key players for Olympiacos in the future and with their development expedited in the A2 Basket League, their time with the first team could be sooner rather than later.

Bartzokas is expected to inject youth in the Olympiacos roster so that the Piraeus giants won’t be at a loss when the likes of Spanoulis (37) and Printezis (35) inevitably call time on their playing days.

Heading into the offseason, Bartzokas will have several tough decisions to make regarding his roster, including what to do with Ethan Happ as the American big man is expected to make his return after spending the final months of the season on loan in Italy.

With Spanoulis and Printezis nearing their retirement in the next couple of seasons, it’s already expected that Kostas Papanikolaou will be leaned on to be a leader in the Olympiacos ranks. Papanikolaou, who turns 30 in July, still has several prime years left in his career but without a doubt will need to step into more of a leading role in the coming season.

That’s especially true considering that Nikola Milutinov is out of contract at season’s end and is expected to leave Piraeus after a spending five years in the port city. The Serbian’s departure will likely implore Olympiacos to seek reinforcements on the transfer market, but it’s already believed that Happ and Sasha Vezenkov will have expanded roles in Bartzokas rotation.

There’s no doubting the size of the task Bartzokas faces in his second go-around as Olympiacos head coach, especially considering his first stint in the Piraeus hot seat came on the heels of a EuroLeague triumph marshalled by the legendary Dusko Ivkovic. However, Olympiacos’ brass are confident that a seasoned Bartzokas will be able to steer the club back to the summit in domestically and abroad as the Erythrolefki look to keep up with the everchanging landscape of European basketball.

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