Georgios Tsalmpouris has signed a national letter of intent to join the ISU men’s basketball team.

ISU head basketball coach Fred Hoiberg announced the clinching of the 7-foot-1-inch Tsalmpouris on May 19. He praised the addition of the big man who will be able to gel with Iowa State’s style of play. 

“Georgios gives us another big man that is able to run the floor and shoot the ball,” Hoiberg said in a press release. “He fits with how we want to play while giving us more length. I am looking forward to helping him continue to develop as a basketball player.”

Tsalmpouris provides a presence in the paint the Cyclones simply did not have on the roster last season, as the tallest player on the team was listed at 6 feet 8 inches.

Tsalmpouris, still only 17-years-old, averaged a triple double on his under-17 team in Greece, scoring 27 points per game while grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking 10 shots per contest. He also added three assists per game.

Tsalmpouris said his signing was a culmination of years of playing the game and dreaming.

“As an elementary school student in Greece, I started playing basketball having a dream, a big dream for a country boy from a small rural town named Katerini,” Tsalmpouris said in a press release. “I hoped that one day I would be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean and [be] playing basketball at a big university.

“Today I feel blessed because my dream came true on the best possible scenario. I am joining the Iowa State basketball team.”