Utah Jazz: Kosta comes to Salt Lake

During his first-ever visit to Utah, which came a day after being drafted in the first round by the Jazz, Kosta Koufos was impressed by his future home's "beautiful" scenery, the cleanliness and the friendliness.

(And, yes, he was referring to Salt Lake City, and not Orem, where he potentially could end up with the D-League's Utah Flash.)

Greece native Kathy Koufos, the 19-year-old's mom, also "loved it" — from what she learned about the "family-oriented community," to her son's new basketball organization, even down to how Salt Lake City has two Greek churches.

One can only imagine how excited these dual citizenship Greek Americans from Canton, Ohio, will be when they find out the area also has Mad Greek and Greek Souvlaki restaurants.

Opah!

"I'm just very blessed and fortunate to be here," said the 7-foot center, who spurned offers to play pro ball in Greece and was picked 23rd overall after his freshman season at Ohio State, while meeting Friday with media at the Zions Bank Basketball Center.

In other words, Utah made a good first impression on the Koufos family.

The feeling, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor inferred, is mutual.

The Jazz were thrilled the big man, who has offensive skills inside and outside, fell all the way to them when they figured he'd be snatched up earlier in the first round. So, yes, they're geeked about their Greek.

"We're very, very happy to have a player that we think will contribute to the Utah Jazz," O'Connor said, "(and) also a person that we feel will be a credit not only to himself and to his family but also to the Utah Jazz and the state of Utah."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan wasn't at the press conference, but he met with Koufos earlier in the day and also made a lasting impression on his incoming rookie. Sloan, who's coached the Jazz longer (20 years) than Koufos has been alive, warned his newest player that the NBA was a "faster-paced game" than college. He also advised Koufos to "maintain" his health and focus leading up to next month's Rocky Mountain Revue, which he will likely participate in instead of trying to help Greece qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

It isn't likely the two will attend Utah's annual Greek Festival together, but Koufos said he's eager to work hard and learn from Sloan.

"He told me he's going to be hard on me, which I love," Koufos said. "(Sloan said) come in with an aggressive nature and we'll learn a lot more and I can become a very good basketball player for this program."