The incoming St. John’s freshman led Greece in points and assists in a tournament featuring many exciting European prospects
Lefteris Liotopoulos has yet to join the St. John’s men’s basketball team for late summer workouts, and there is good reason for his absence.
Beginning in late July, the 6-foot-5 Greek guard represented his home country of Greece in the 2024 FIBA Under-18 Eurobasket, an annual tournament featuring many of Europe’s most promising young players. He caught attention for his impressive all-around offensive performance.
Liotopoulos was a knockdown three-point shooter throughout the tournament and showed off his ability to drive and attack the rim. Even though he fits the mold of a shooting guard, Liotopoulos flashed excellent playmaking skills with the ball in his hands.
Starting for Greece in all seven of their games, Liotopoulos led the team in points per game (15.7) and assists per game (4.3) and was second on the team in steals per game (1.4). Liotopoulos shot 41.6% from the field, 39.2% from three (20-of-51), and 72.7% from free throws (16-of-22) in the competition.
Greece would ultimately finish in tenth place, tallying an overall record of 3-4 in the competition, but three losses were close calls. They lost to France by a score of 69-66 in their first group stage game, then fell to Belgium by a score of 66-62 in the Round of 16, and came up short to Italy by a score of 70-68 in the 9th place ranking game.
One of Rick Pitino’s earliest signings at St. John’s, Liotopoulos committed to the team in May 2023 after considering other American college destinations such as Stanford, Virginia, and Princeton.
In a 2023 interview with the New York Post’s Zach Braziller, Liotopoulos not only cited Pitino’s background as a Hall of Fame head coach as one of his major influences in his decision, but Pitino’s previous tenures coaching for the Greek national team and esteemed Greek basketball club Panathinaikos helped convince the young Greek guard to come to St. John’s.
Liotopoulos has flown under the radar and prognosticators don’t expect him to create a role in year one amongst a backcourt featuring Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, Simeon Wilcher, and Jaiden Glover. However, his promising exploits in Europe show Liotopoulos has the chance to carve a spot in the rotation in his freshman year.