Texas Longhorn Ioannis Papapetrou gives interview; Olympiacos makes final offer

Over the last week, we have been following the story as two top Greek basketball teams have tried to woo Texas sophomore Ioannis Papapetrou. Both Olympiacos B.C., two time defending Euroleague champions, and Panathinaikos B.C., the team that his father played with professionally, are pursuing Papapetrou.

Over the weekend, NewsNow.gr reported that Olympiacos made its final offer of 1.3 million Euros over five years to Papapetrou. Note that this is the value of the contract after all taxes are paid, and that the contract also likely includes some additional provisions for living expenses.

Both Ioannis Papapetrou, and his father Argiris, a former professional player in Europe, have given interviews this week. The site Woop.gr, published an interview of Ioannis Papapetrou. In it, Papapetrou indicated that he does not, "deny that my desire is to stay in Texas." He went on to say that his, "dream is the NBA draft."

Despite his statement about wanting to return to the States, Papapetrou is seriously considering these offers to play in Greece. He said that, "if a proposal covers all my ambitions, we will look very seriously and we will see what happens."

And those ambitions are more than just financial. Papapetrou said that, "I want to play, to feel an active part of the clubs playing."

And he understands that he must decide quickly, stating that, "I know that very soon I have to decide what to do."

Ioannis' father Argiris Papapetrou also gave an interview that appeared on the site Basketplus.gr. In it, he described discussions with his former team Panathinaikos, but indicated that he "never confirmed or denied that there is an economic proposal from Panathinaikos."