Michalis "Mika" Kakiouzis (alternate spellings: Michail, Michailis, Mihalis) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Μιχάλης Κακιούζης; born November 29, 1976) is a Greek professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He is currently working as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

for

Keravnos Keravnos B.C. (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Στροβόλου «Ο Κεραυνός»), also known as Keravnos Strovolou, is a professional basketball club based in Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. It plays its home games in the ...

of the

Cyprus Basketball Division A The Cypriot Basketball Division A is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format At present, six clubs compete ...

. At a height of 2.07 m (6 ft. 9 in.) tall, he was able to play at both the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

positions.

Early years

Kakiouzis began playing basketball at the age of 8, with the youth academies of Ionikos NF, in Greece.

Professional career

Kakiouzis made his debut with the Ionikos N.F. senior club in the 1992–93 season. He played three seasons in the Greek 2nd Division. At the age of 18, he became the 2nd scorer and rebounder of the Greek 2nd Division. He was in the squad that brought Greece the gold medal at the

1995 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 1995 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: 1995 Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19) was the 5th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship. It was held in multiple cities in Greece, from 12 to 22 July 1995. Host country ...

for junior men. This was a stepping stone for his journey toward

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

, as his performance at the 1995 Junior World Cup with Greece got him a contract with AEK, one of the powers of the top Greek League. Kakiouzis had a fruitful stay at AEK Athens. While with the club, he won a Greek League championship in the 2001–02 season, and he also won two Greek Cups, in the years 2000 and 2001. He also won the

Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

with AEK, in the year 2000. After leaving AEK Athens in the year 2002, Kakiouzis went on to play for

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, t ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. With Siena, he won both the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

championship and the

Italian Supercup The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...

in the 2003–04 season. He was also named to the All-Italian League Team for the season by the

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

website. In 2005, Kakiouzis left Siena and joined Barcelona Basquet of the Spanish League. He stayed with Barcelona until his contract expired in 2007. He then joined the Spanish League club

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

. Kakiouzis signed with the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

club Efes in 2008. On August 27, 2009, he returned to the Greek League and signed with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

. In 2011, he signed with Vanoli Basket to help the team to avoid

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. In January 2012, he signed with the Italian League club

Virtus Roma Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for the last time in the 2020–21 season. It was form ...

. In October 2012, he signed with

SAV Vacallo Basket SAV Vacallo Basket is a professional basketball club based in Vacallo, Switzerland. The club has previously played in both the Swiss LNA and LNB divisions. Honours *Swiss Basketball League: (1) : 2009 *Swiss Basketball Cup: (4) : 1999, 2000, 2 ...

of the

Swiss League The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, th ...

. In 2013, he played for the

Cypriot League The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

club

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

. In the summer of 2013, he participated in the training camp of

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. He then joined the Greek club AENK in 2013. On 19 January 2015, after averaging 9 points and 6 rebounds, he left AENK. On 23 January 2015, Kakiouzis moved to Cyprus and signed a contract with

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. He joined the Greek 2nd Division club, Faros Keratsiniou, for the 2015–16 season. On 4 January 2016, he announced that his retirement as a player would come at the end of the 2015–16 season.

National team career

Greek junior national team

At the age of 15, Kakiouzis became a player of the national junior teams of Greece. With the Greek junior national team, he won the gold medal at the

1993 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 1993 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (known at that time as 1993 European Championship for Cadets) was the 12th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Trabzon, Giresun and Samsun, in Turkey, hosted the tournament. Gr ...

. He was also on the Greek national junior squad that brought Greece the gold medal at the

for junior men. He would later go on to be a key member on Greece's senior national team as well.

Greek senior national team

Kakiouzis was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the senior men's

Greek national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...

. He was a member of the Greek team that won the gold medal at the

2005 EuroBasket The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

, and was also a member of Greece's silver medal winning team at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. Kakiouzis was on Greece's team that competed at the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, which was held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. He also competed with Greece's senior team at the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a b ...

2003 EuroBasket The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

, and the

2007 EuroBasket The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to th ...

Post-playing career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, Kakiouzis became the lead

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. On April 7, 2022, he has signed with

of the

Awards and achievements

Greek junior national team

: *

Greek senior national team

*3×

Acropolis Tournament The Acropolis International Basketball Tournament (also known as the Acropolis of Athens Basketball Tournament and the Acropolis Basketball Cup) (Greek: Τουρνουά Ακρόπολις) is an international basketball competition that is playe ...

Champion: (2005, 2006, 2007) *

: *

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League Profile

Hellenic Basketball Federation Profile

Italian League Profile

Spanish League Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakiouzis, Michalis 1976 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players AEK B.C. players AEK Larnaca B.C. players Anadolu Efes S.K. players APOEL B.C. players Aris B.C. players ASVEL Basket players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Real Betis Baloncesto players Faros Keratsiniou B.C. players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players FIBA EuroBasket-winning players Greek Basket League players Greek expatriate basketball people in Spain Greek men's basketball players Ionikos N.F. B.C. players Keravnos B.C. coaches Liga ACB players Mens Sana Basket players Nea Kifissia B.C. players Olympic basketball players of Greece Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Power forwards (basketball) SAV Vacallo Basket players Small forwards Vanoli Cremona players Basketball players from Athens