Welcome back to the Taking The Charge Podcast - this week we are talking with a young Greek player in high school in the United States: Gianni Ferentinos of Webster Groves High in St. Louis, Missouri.
Before that … let’s take a quick look around the world of basketball for the Big Three
2:30 - Story we are watching - Postponement of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich
4:00 - Young player of the week - Ja Morant with one of the best blocks of all time. As Lebron James said afterwards: "It starts with timing and also just … you know … stalking your prey. And that’s exactly what Ja was doing that whole play. I saw it happening, I didn’t know he would do it in that fashion. His uh … they got rockets in his calf muscles. It was a spectacular play.”
5:25 - Up-coming event we are watching - Still more and more game suspensions in the EuroLeague
Before we get into the talk with Gianni Feretinos, we would like to give you a sneak peak of the Taking The Charge Prospects Podcast with Lithuanian guard Dovydas Giedraitis from Lietkabelis Panevzys - which is part of the paid subscription section of the TTC substack.
7:10 - Sneak preview of interview
Gianni Ferentinos - 2005 - Greece - Webster Groves HS, St. Louis, USA - 11:35
Here is a breakdown of the interview
12:00 - How he thinks the season is going so far
13:10 - Competition level he is facing
14:20 - What it’s like playing for EYBL Bradley Beal team
16:15 - Impressions of Peach Jam and other players out there
18:00 - His beginnings of basketball in Greece
19:25 - Basketball scene on the small island of Chios - off the coast of Turkey
21:40 - The move to Athens in 2018 and playing in Panionios system
23:10 - Greek youth national team experiences
24:15 - Visit to the United States and then starting high school in the USA - and that during Covid-19 pandemic
27:05 - How playing organized basketball in Greece helped in playing in the US
27:45 - Playing without a shot clock
32:20 - What he will look for in a college
34:55 - Rapid fire questions
40:05 - Basketball role models
41:05 - Greece national team system and possibly coming back this summer - for FIBA U18 European Championship 2022
42:00 - About the 2004/2005 Greek generation
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