Nestoras Kommatos is taking his talents to Naples. The 34-year-old has signed a contract through the end of the season with second-division Sant’Antimo, the Italian team announced today.
It was just a matter of time, of course, because three Maroussi teammates, all of whom were starters, had left before him. Maroussi (0-17) is nearly broke and can barely pay its players. Sant’Antimo (6-13) is in last place and wants to avoid relegation next season.
Nestoras Kommatos
The Italians know Kommatos, who led the Greek league in scoring (20.4 ppg), will bring scoring punch to its frontcourt. The Greek forward shot 56 percent inside the 3-point line and 34.5 percent beyond it. Kommatos averaged 6.6 rebounds per game, good for seventh-best in Greece.
Kommatos is a two-time All Star in Greece and was having something of a resurgent season. He and point guard Yannis Gagaloudis helped make Maroussi a fun team to watch, even as they lost, sometimes in heartbreaking fashion. Gagaloudis, now in Cyprus, was the quick playmaker with a quick temper, while Kommatos was the quiet one, piling up points. Frank Elegar (see ‘Elegar signs with Turkish team’) dunked and blocked shots while Dimitris Haritopoulos (now in France) was the blue-collar power forward.
Two memories of Kommatos jump out to me. First was his 40-point night in Thessaloniki recently, when Gagaloudis was absent. He basically was the team’s only scoring threat but still found ways to get open and sink shots (including seven 3-pointers). Maroussi lost 86-82.
A heartbreaker for Maroussi fans was Jan. 7 at home to Drama. At that point, Maroussi was 0-10 and still had hopes of turning its season around, if only it could break into the win column.
Maroussi led by 12 points but Drama chipped away in the second half — that Jeremy Hunt can shoot; I see why Coach Cal reinstated him at Memphis in 2006. Down 75-74, Gagaloudis drove into the lane and missed. Might have been fouled. A scramble for the rebound sent the ball out of bounds under the basket. Maroussi retained possession with just over 1 second remaining.
Kommatos came around a screen, took the pass and went up to shoot from about 18 feet, near the baseline. His defender even slipped a bit, giving him a nice look at the basket. The ball skimmed over the rim, hit the far side of the rim, and bounced straight out. Buzzer. Game over. Kommatos fell backward and laid on the court in disbelief.
In Italy, Kommatos will work with another successful point guard, Troy Bell, 31. He’s averaging 23 ppg in five games for Sant’Antimo. Bell played at Boston College and was the 16th pick in the 2003 draft, taken by the Boston Celtics, who traded his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal that brought Kendrick Perkins to Boston.
Kommatos played briefly for Bologna in 2006. He’s also played in Turkey, Israel, Russia and Spain.
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