Feb 02, 2021 by Euroleague.net Print Joe Arlaukas chats up two-time EuroLeague finalist In the latest episode of The Crossover, Joe Arlauckas gets to know Maccabi Tel Aviv's Ioannis Sfairopoulos, who bided his time as a long-term assistant before skyrocketing into the top echelon of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague head coaches over the last seven seasons. The son of a soccer pro, Sfairopoulos chose basketball as his sport, but by age 21, had given up playing to coach his amateur club, Apollon Kalamarias, in his hometown of Thessaloniki. In his 11th season there, Apollon won Greece's third-division title, earning him an assistant coach's slot at nearby PAOK, where he stayed seven seasons, one as head coach, while also assisting for the Greek national team. Though he rarely slept in those predigital years full of scouting and video analysis, Sfairopoulos considers his assistant coaching experience essential to his formation.