 One of the most recognizable players on any Euroleague court is Olympiacos big man Sofoklis Schortsanitis, whose wide body and dancing feet make him a marvel to watch playing. In his fifth Euroleague season at age 24, Schortsanitis this season has taken on a major role with the Reds, starting in 16 out of 17 games in the Euroleague, more than at any time before in his career. He has responded with some of the best per-minute numbers in the entire Euroleague in terms of scoring, rebounding and drawing fouls, any or all of which could be crucial for Olympiacos at the 2010 Final Four in Paris. In the semifinals there, Schortsanitis will be tested by two Partizan centers with different styles, All-Euroleague nominee Aleks Maric, a banger, and Slavko Vranes, at 2.29-meters the tallest player ever in a Final Four. Last season, Schortsanitis came wit the Reds to the Final Four, but didn't see any playing time, so now he can't wait to make the most of a new opportunity. ""It's a great thing to be going to the Final Four again and I'm really excited. This time I want to be able to help the team, so I am practicing hard to be in the best condition I can be when we get to Paris."
Hello Sofoklis. How does it feel to be going back to the Final Four, especially since you didn't get a chance to play there last year?
"It's a great thing to be going to the Final Four again and I'm really excited. This time I want to be able to help the team, so I am practicing hard to be in the best condition I can be when we get to Paris."
This season you became a full-time starter for Olympiacos. What does that extra responsibility mean for you?
"At this level, everybody knows that it doesn't matter as much who starts a game. What matters is who ends it. But I can say that being a starter, there are more ways I can help the team. One is by boosting the team at the start of a game. That's one of the jobs of a starter, to set the team's tempo. That's what I try to do when I go out on the floor. But like I said, what's really important is the end of the games."
Olympiacos started a long season back with the Euroleague American Tour. Did that trip help make Olympiacos a better and closer team?
"It was something different for us. I had been to the United States before, but I never had done anything like that, so it was exciting. We accumulated a lot of experience in those games and were able to become more of a team, I think. So, yes, it certainly helped in that way."
 You have played your best basketball with coach Panagiotis Giannakis in the Euroleague and on the Greek national team. How do you fit in his system?
"Right now, I just try to do whatever coach is asking me to do. Whether it's scoring, playing defense or rebounding, I try my best to do what I can. Coach Giannakis always says that if you want to play a lot of years, you've got to know how to do different stuff on the court. A time will come when you won't be able to score, so you have to learn things. I am doing whatever he aks, and until now it's working well, so I am going to keep on doing that."
One of Olympiacos’s greatest weapons is its depth, particularly at center. How do you, Nikola Vujcic, Ioannis Bourousis and Loukas Mavrokefalides share that role?
"I think every one of us plays in a completely different way. Each of us has great abilities and maybe we have different kinds of strengths compared with each other. But that works because we can then match up with the strength of how other teams play. We are all individuals - Nikola, Luka, Ioannis and me - but all of us have the same thing in mind, to help the team win and go as high as possible in every competition."
Olympiacos went to the Final Four last season for the first time in 10 years. What did the team learn in Berlin last season that you can use in Paris?
"We learned that you've got to try your best on every single play. You've got to go to work every second on the floor. The thing is the environment of those games can be very tough. It can be overwhelming. We've got to keep cool, keep patient, play our ball and see how it goes."
By now you have had time to start analyzing your semifinals opponent, Partizan. What are the keys to that game?
 "I think on key thing is that Partizan is a young team that likes to run, so we'll have to be aware of that and control the tempo. Also, they have some good outside shooters that we'll have to stop. But basically, what we need to do is play our game like we always do. We need to go in like a team, not as individuals, and play to the best of our abilities. This is what I believe we have to do, nothing more and nothing less."
One of the players you will face in the semifinals in Paris is the tallest in the Euroleague, Slavko Vranes. What is it like to challenge such a big man?
"Basketball is known as a sport that is played in the air, but it is also played on the ground. So being tall is not everything. Being fast, flexible and explosive are also important. I'll try to use those things against him, and I am sure my coach will find a way to for me to be more effective like that against him."
You have won medals at both the World and European championships. If you lift the Euroleague crown on May 9, would that be the highlight of your career?
"I try not to think about it right now. What I want to do is play the games and try my best. When the time comes, I will have the words to describe what I am feeling and experiencing, but right now, I can only say I am happy to be going again to the Final Four, and playing in it for the first time. And I think it will be better for us this year."
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