Rising Serbian star Milan Macvan's assessment of Konstantinos Koufos of Greece after the gold medal game between the two sides at the UMCOR U18 European Championship in Madrid last year should have hit us all like a thunderbolt. 

Koufos had just scored a game-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Greece's narrow defeat to Serbia in the title game when Macvan was asked about the American-born Greek. 

"Koufos?" Macvan said. "Well, Koufos is perhaps the next David Robinson. He's a great player. I don't have words to describe him." 

Koufos, folks, just turned 19 years old! 

He tore up the field in Madrid, and he is tearing up the field in American college hoops with Ohio State. 

An old saying comes to mind when I think about Greece's possibilities with this big guy. 

THE FUTURE IS NOW, AND THE FUTURE IS KOSTA KOUFOS.

Konstantinos Koufos could be the one to make the difference in a future Greek national team

Really, if there is one player who should be causing a bigger stir in international basketball than Ricky Rubio of Spain, it's the 2.16m center Koufos and I'm not just saying it because I want fans in Athens to invite me over for dinner after Greece's games this summer at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

For the record, both Koufos and Rubio made the all-tournament team in Madrid, and Koufos was the MVP of the tournament after averaging 26.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots. 

Koufos will be in the Greek squad that prepares for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens and could even make Panagiotis Yannakis' final cut for the event. 

At Ohio State, he is the team's second leading scorer (13.8 points) and leading rebounder (6.9), and he has blocked 56 shots this season. 

Okay, some of you are thinking something like this, "Yes, but that's college basketball and really, it's not as good as ball in Europe." 

Get real, folks. Koufos is playing in the most physical conference in the land, the Big 10, he's a freshman and he is impressive. 

Koufos was born in America, but you needn't question his nationality. 

"I'm 100% Greek," Koufos said in the Ohio State basketball program that's sold before Buckeyes games. 

"I always wanted to play for the Greek national team. To represent your country is one of the biggest things in the world for me. I've always enjoyed being Greek since I was a little boy." 

Koufos' mother Katerina and his father, the late Alex Koufos, were both from Greece. 

If Koufos gets chills when asked about representing his country in Spain last year, just imagine what it's going to feel like when he walks onto the court and stands beside Theo Papaloukas to sing the national anthem. 

The Madrid experience clearly whet his appetite for bigger things with Greece. 

"It was a very high intensity level in the tournament," Koufos said. 

"There were a lot of professional players in the European championships and God blessed me to be able to play with such great talent." 

Because he is so good at 19, and a giant seven feet in height as well, it's only natural for fans to wonder how long Koufos will remain with the Buckeyes before turning professional. 

After all, Greg Oden turned professional after his freshman season at Ohio State to become the number one overall draft pick by Portland. 

Koufos seems content to remain in college basketball for now. He's learning the game, and balancing sports with academics. 

"In college basketball you have to know plays and what to do in certain situations," Koufos said. 

"There is a lot of talent in college, but the ones that are successful in the college game are those with the highest IQ." 

That kind of thinking won't do him any harm when it comes to playing for Greece this summer. 

"God gave me the opportunity to play in college basketball, so I'm just trying to make the best of it and getting better every day in practice."