NBA draft
Koufos slides to Jazz at No. 23
7-footer from OSU goes later than most analysts expected
Friday,
June 27, 2008 3:14 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
KYLE ROBERTSON | DISPATCH
"I have no regrets. I'm very happy with my situation." — Kosta Koufos
By 9 p.m., Kosta Koufos' hopes of being an NBA lottery pick had ended.
A half-hour later, the former Ohio State freshman was bypassed for a player who averaged five
points in a French league.
Koufos' wait ended a few minutes later when the Utah Jazz made him the 23rd pick of the
draft.
If he was disappointed, he did a good job of hiding it.
"I have no regrets," Koufos said. "I'm very happy with my situation."
Koufos' wait was longer than most NBA analysts expected, a view the Jazz apparently shared.
Koufos was not among the 28 players the team listed as having worked out for it. The Jazz likely
didn't invite Koufos because it thought he'd be long gone.
Some expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to take Koufos, who's from Canton. But the Cavs took North
Carolina State forward J.J. Hickson with the 19th pick.
With the next pick, Charlotte took Alexis Ajinca, a 7-footer who averaged five points and didn't
start for his French team.
Koufos said he's excited to join a team that reached the Western Conference semifinals.
Utah has a rising star in guard Deron Williams and an experienced frontcourt led by Carlos
Boozer and Mehmet Okur. The 7-foot Koufos is considered similar to Okur: a good shooter for a big
man.
"I know a lot about him," Koufos said. "I'm very, very lucky to have a player like Mehmet Okur
ahead of me. I'm going to learn from him, and he'll help me become a better player."
In a league where change is constant, Utah is a model of stability. Jerry Sloan has been the
team's coach since 1988.
"They're a very up-tempo team," Koufos said. "They have very versatile players and a Hall of
Fame coach. I'm in a great situation."
Before the draft, Utah vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin discounted the chances of
drafting an impact player.
"Is he going to help us this year? Probably not," Perrin told the
Deseret News of Salt Lake City. "So we've got to look and see what he will do
for us in the future. Can he be a starter or can he be a rotational player in two to three years
down the road?"
Koufos has the ability to be more than that. He averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds and helped
the Buckeyes to the NIT championship.
"Kosta Koufos meant a great deal to our program," OSU coach Thad Matta said in a statement. "We
are excited for him because he had a goal to play at the next level and he'll now have a chance to
do so."
Koufos is the fourth OSU freshman to be a first-round pick in the past two years. Greg Oden,
Michael Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook were taken last year.
Based on the NBA rookie salary scale, Koufos is guaranteed $941,100 this season and $1,011,700
his second year.
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