It's All Greek to Coppenrath
By Paul Hayes | CALEDONIA-RECORD (12/31/05)

Less than a month after he signed with Greek professional basketball team AEK, West Barnet native Taylor Coppenrath hopped on a red eye flight to Athens.

He arrived on little sleep and was welcomed to a country he didn't know by a driver who didn't speak English.

Eventually, he was taken to a sixth-story, one-bedroom apartment. He was alone, the refrigerator was empty, and the appliance instructions were in Greek.

Welcome to life in the Euroleague.

"It was tough at first," said the typically understated Coppenrath on Wednesday.

Equally tough was life on the court. Over the course of the season Coppenrath, wearing number 13, has adjusted to being a 6-foot-7 center in a guard-dominated league.

"They do a lot of penetrating and slashing and kicking out for 3-pointers," said Taylor's father, George. "It's primarily guard ... dominated; they don't play a lot of the low post game."

Taylor made his European debut on Oct. 9, scoring 14 points in a game against Greek rival Apollon.

Since then he has averaged 9.8 points per game, including three 21-point performances. He has started every game.

The quality of European and South American basketball has improved dramatically over the last 10 years. The United States did not qualify for the final game in either the 2002 World Championship (Yugoslavia beat Argentina) or the 2004 Olympics (Argentina beat Italy).

During a recent trip to Greece, Coppenrath's father attended five AEK games and confirmed the quality of Euroleague basketball, saying it was "a much higher level of competition than the college game."

"It's much faster and the players are a lot bigger," he said.

They also come from various countries, speaking various languages. Coppenrath plays alongside teammates and coaches hailing from Greece, Israel, Latvia and Croatia.

"Some speak English better than others; we use our hands a lot," Coppenrath said. "When we are on the court, I can pick up what they are talking about."

In addition to the language barrier, Coppenrath is also adjusting to another difference between the American and European game -- cigarette smoke.

Public smoking is allowed in Greece, and fans often light up while inside the 6,400-seat Galatsi Olympic Hall, AEK's home court.

"The smoke has nowhere to go so you end up playing in a blue haze of smoke," Coppenrath said. "I don't know if it's good for anybody's lungs."

"At basketball games [the fans] have a cell phone in one hand, and a cigarette in the other," his father said. "It really is strange to see a blue haze settling over the arena at halftime."

Coppenrath led the University of Vermont to three straight America East titles, and last season led the Catamounts to an NCAA first round victory over Big East champion Syracuse. He graduated as the school's second all-time scoring leader (2,442 points, 21.4 ppg).

He went undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft, and subsequently played for the Boston Celtics team in the Reebok Vegas Summer League. He averaged 7.1 points in six summer league games.

Coppenrath signed a two-year contract with AEK on Aug. 31; he hopes the experience will lead to another chance at making the NBA.

However, playing professionally in Europe is not a bad Plan B, his father said.

"I think his ultimate goal is to get back and play in the NBA, but there is a lot of competition for a few spots," said his father. "The way I look at it, a lot of players play [in Europe] and stay there."

George Coppenrath pointed to another former college star - UCLA standout point guard Tyus Edney, who now plays for Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus - as an example of the success that can be had in Europe.

"[Edney] had his wife and his family at the game, and probably has a nice house," his father said. "He's making Greece his home, and it's really not a bad place to live."