Ioannis Papapetrou, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior basketball shooting guard from Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, Fla., will announce his college choice on Saturday, Air Academy basketball coach Aubin Goporo said Wednesday.
Papapetrou, who averaged 22 points and seven rebounds a game last season, has a final list of Kansas University and Texas. He visited KU for the Sept. 24 Legends of the Phog exhibition game and Texas last weekend. Papapetrou, who is originally from Greece, has canceled visits to Alabama, Florida and George Mason.
“He had his final visits set up. After the Texas visit he came back and said, ‘That’s enough.’ He will make a decision based on those two schools,” Goporo said, indicating he had no idea which school Papapetrou ultimately would select.
Papapetrou, the son of former European pro basketball player Argiris Papapetrou, will announce at some point during a ceremony Saturday afternoon to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the school.
“We have a lot of the alumni of the school coming back. Because we are a military school, he will be marching and be announcing at that time,” Goporo said.
Goporo told Florida Today that the unranked Papapetrou, “can do a lot of things. He can shoot, he can pass, he can drive, he can handle the ball. He understands the game. This kid will continue to get better and better.”
Papapetrou, who turns 18 in March, told the paper in early October that eventually he’d “get a feeling, have a feeling I want to go there. I think about it every night before I go to sleep. I’m really happy I’m in this situation. I cannot wait to make my decision and know where I’m going to go, focus on my decision and get ready to go to college.”
Florida Air Academy is the alma mater of former KU center Sasha Kaun.
Taylor No. 19: KU senior Tyshawn Taylor is the No. 19-rated point guard in the country, according to CBSsports.com. Wisconsin’s Jordan Taylor is ranked No. 1. The only Big 12 point guard listed ahead of Taylor is Texas’ Myck Kabongo (No. 7), Missouri’s Phil Pressey is ranked No. 23.
Pierce to tour: Former KU player Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics is expected to participate in upcoming NBA exhibition games in Puerto Rico, London, Macau and Australia, ESPN reports. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and others will play during the two-week tour starting Oct. 30.
Peters update: Future KU forward Zach Peters of Prestonwood Christian Academy caught four passes for 73 yards and no touchdowns in the Plano, Texas, school’s 35-28 overtime football loss to Nolan Catholic last Friday. For the year, the 6-9 wide receiver has 42 catches for 549 yards and nine touchdowns.
Ticket talk: A limited number of reserved single-game KU men’s basketball tickets will go on sale to active members of the Williams Education Fund today. The general public can purchase single-game tickets for available games on Monday. More information is available at kuathletics.com or through the ticket office at 800-34HAWKS.