Dimitris "Takis" Karatzoulidis (; born June 2, 1957) is a Greek former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and

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Professional career

Karatzoulidis started his career from Iraklis in 1971. With Iraklis, he played in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

final in 1981, and he scored 29 points. Despite his good performance, Iraklis was defeated by

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

, by a score of 84–78. In 1985, he transferred to

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. His transfer was the second most expensive in the history of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

at the time, and cost fifty million

Greek drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma, a modern Greek currency (1833...2002) * Cretan drachma, currency of the former Cretan State * Drachma proctocomys, moth species, the only species in the Genus ...

. Karatzoulidis played with PAOK for five years, but his playing efficiency didn't match to his player cost. One of his best games with

, was in a win against

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

, by a score of 81–78. Karatzoulidis scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds. Karatzoulidis also played with Dimokritos, in the Greek 2nd Division, during the 1991–92 season.

National team career

Karatzoulidis was a member of Greece's junior Under-16, and Under-18 national teams. He played at the

1973 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 1973 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (known at that time as 1973 European Championship for Cadets) was the second edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Summonte and Angri, in Italy, hosted the tournament. The Sovie ...

. He was also a member of the senior

Greek national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team () represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Greece. Greece is currently ranked 13th in the FIBA Wo ...

. With Greece's senior national team, he had 102

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, and scored a total of 450 points. He played with Greece at the 1979 EuroBasket, the 1980 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 1981 EuroBasket, and the 1984 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament. With Greece, he also won the gold medal at the

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Croatia, Split, SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September ...

Coaching career

After, his retirement from playing basketball, Karatzoulidis became a member of the Greek player veterans and became a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. In 1997, he began working as a basketball academy coach.

Personal life

Karatzoulidis studied Economics at the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...

References

External links

FIBA Senior ProfileHellenic Basketball Federation Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karatzoulidis, Takis 1957 births Living people Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Greek basketball coaches Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball P.A.O.K. BC players Power forwards Basketball players from Thessaloniki 20th-century Greek sportsmen