CHICAGO — For 61 years, a wiry white-haired man has reigned king of Maine West High School’s center court.

He’s not the coach. In fact, he never played on the team.

“What can I tell you? I’m on a mission for the team,” smiles Nick Ladas.

At 78, Ladas has the spirit of a student a quarter of his age.

“He gets pretty excited. Sometimes we have to keep him under wraps as we go to play rivals because he gets so fired up for games,” says head coach Tom Prokopij.

They call him Maine West’s CMO… Chief Morale Officer. He attends nearly every practice and all the games, high fiving and calling out players by name.

Ladas has been walking the halls of Maine West High School since he started there as a freshman in 1959.

He says he has no plans to leave just yet.

“I’m holding out for the boys to win a state title!” Says Ladas. “It’ll come and I want to be here when it happens.”

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“Before Giannis [Antetokounmpo] there was another Greek. That was me, Dr. George Korkos,” the founding owner of Milwaukee Bucks says with a big grin on his face as he shows the NBA Championship ring he still proudly wears almost five decades after his team won the NBA title.

Korkos, a proud Greek-American, was at the helm of the Bucks when the club wrote the most glorious page in its history by winning the ‘71 championship, thanks in great part to Kareem Abdul Jabaar, whom he describes as “probably the finest basketball player that ever lived” and Oscar Robertson.

The Milwaukee Bucks — with those two stars and a talented cast of role players — would go on to win 66 regular season games in the 1970-1971 season and cruise to the Championship, winning 12 of 14 playoff games, including a 4-0 sweep of the Baltimore Bullets.

Basketball pundits consider that Bucks team as one of the most dominant in the entire history of the NBA.

Korkos, who is now a successful plastic surgeon, describes himself a “sports fanatic,” and still laments the fact that due to his 5’6″ height (1.67 m) he couldn’t play professional basketball himself. “I wasn’t even tall enough to be the trainer, but I loved this sports game,” he says.

With his childlike enthusiasm for the game, he was among those who helped acquire the the Milwaukee Bucks franchise on January 22, 1968. “We were so fortunate to get that franchise. And we got it because of persistence… Once we got it, we were ‘green,’ but we were growing.”

“Giannis has got to do what we had to do. He’s got to bring to Milwaukee another championship!” Korkos says enthusiastically.

The surgeon and basketball entrepreneur clearly remembers the first time he met Antetokounmpo when the Greek Freak was only 19 years of age. Korkos was warned that the basketball player, newly-arrived from Athens, did not speak much English.

“I said ‘OK Gianni, we’ll talk in Greek.’ Well after about 20 minutes, my Greek went to hell, and he said: ‘Enough for today…Your Greek isn’t that good. You’d better speak English with me!” Korkos remembers.

For his part, Antetokounmpo has great admiration for Korkos. “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for representing Greece. And you know the saying: Once a Buck, always a Buck,” the Greek Freak notes.

Korkos’ parents were born in the Peloponnesian Peninsula, his father near Patras and his mother in Sparta. “I’m 100% Greek, Greek-American,” he states proudly recalling his roots.

“My parents came here, they got married and had this wonderful life,” he adds.

His Greek roots and love for Hellenism pushed him to co-found The National Hellenic Society, an association of Greek-American leaders, visionaries, and philanthropists who perpetuate and celebrate their homeland’s rich heritage in a multitude of ways.

Through the support of programs that foster the preservation of Hellenic heritage in the United States, The National Hellenic Society strives to be a beacon for the promotion, understanding and appreciation of Hellenic heritage in the United States.

The Society’s mission is also to pass on the stewardship of Greek heritage and shared democratic values and ideals to the next generation.

“The mission of the National Hellenic Society is to promote, and sustain Hellenism in this country. We’re doing it through our youth program. We’re sending our youth to Greece, completely paid for,” Korkos says.

He notes that youngsters in the U.S. — not only those of Greek heritage — have become very very knowledgeable about Greece because of Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

“He’s done a lot about the Greek image, and I’m happy to be his friend,” Korkos says.

The former team owner hopes that the Greek Freak will stay in Milwaukee for many years. “The matrix is such in Milwaukee, that this can be his home for his entire NBA career,” he states.

“I never would imagine how Greek the Milwaukee Bucks have become! As a matter of fact, this year they signed Thanassi, his older brother. So now we have two Greeks on the team. That’s a great thing because [the club] is family orientated.”

The founding father of the Milwaukee Bucks serves as the President of both Plastic Surgery Associates and Rejuva Skin Care & Laser Center, and he is also an Associate Clinical Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

He has been a Director at Fibrocell Science, Inc. since July of 2010, and serves as a Member of Advisory Board of Skinvisible Inc. He has served as scientific Advisory Board Member of the Cellgen Company, the Sleep Holding Company, and Skin Visible Company.

The Greek-American is a member of a number of prestigious medical societies.

“If you asked me ‘George, what would you do if you’d do it over again?’ I would reply that I wouldn’t change my lifestyle at all. I love people, I care for them… Fortunately, we Greeks are lucky!” Korkos says.

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NEW YORK – Los Angeles Dodgers two-time National League All-Star Outfielder Cody Bellinger received the 2019 AHEPA Harry Agganis Hellenic Athlete Award at a presentation made prior to the Dodgers game with the New York Mets, at Citi Field, September 15, 2019, announced AHEPA President George G. Horiates. President Horiates, Chairman of the Board Nicholas Karacostas, and Awards Selection Committee Chairman Gregory Stamos presented the award to Bellinger, who is considered a candidate for this year’s National League Most Valuable Player.

“We are honored to present Cody Bellinger with the prestigious Harry Agganis Award,” Horiates said. “Throughout his life, Bellinger has demonstrated excellence as a baseball player. He has flourished as a Major Leaguer and has earned coveted accolades that have eluded many players who reach the Majors. As a community, we are proud of his many accomplishments, and we wish Cody continued success.”

“I would like to thank AHEPA for this recognition,” Bellinger said. “The Award has special meaning to the Greek American community, and I am honored to receive it.”

During the 2019 season, Bellinger, 24 years old, is slashing an impressive .306/.410/.639 with 44 home runs, 106 RBI, and an OPS of 1.049, earning his second All-Star appearance. In his first Major League season, Bellinger was selected as an All-Star and unanimously was named the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the Dodgers’ 18th Rookie of the Year and the 22nd player overall to win the award by unanimous vote. In 2018, Bellinger displayed postseason brilliance, appearing in all 12 of the Dodgers’ postseason games and was awarded the 2018 NLCS MVP after driving in the game-winning runs in Games 4 and 7.

Cody is the son of Clay Bellinger, a two-time World Series champion for the New York Yankees who also played for Greece’s 2004 Olympic baseball team.

The AHEPA Harry Agganis award is named after the legendary multi-sport athlete of Greek heritage who died prematurely at 26 from a pulmonary embolism. Agganis, known as “The Golden Greek,” played professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox and was a college football All-American at Boston University.

Previous recipients of the Agganis Award include: NBA MVP and All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Professional Baseball All-Star and World Series Champion Mike Moustakas, Professional Baseball All-Star Player Nick Markakis, former Professional Football Placekicker and Super Bowl Champion Matt Stover, Olympic Diving Champion Greg Louganis, Ultra-Marathoner Dean Karnazes, World Champion Decathlete Tom Pappas, and Professional Football Player Fred Smerlas.

The AHEPA National Athletic Department offers a wide range of regional and national sporting events and competitions. In 1975 the AHEPA Hellenic Hall of Fame was established, and since its inception, more than 150 individuals have been inducted. Also included in the program are National Athletic and Scholarships Awards for amateur and professional athletes who are spotlighted and honored annual at the AHEPA Supreme Convention.

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Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the principles that undergirded its fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry, and hatred endured at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

AHEPA’s mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.

For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org.

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Chicago native Kyra Vidas joins the Atlanta Dream as Director of Basketball Operations after graduating from Lake Forest College in May 2018 with a degree in Business and Communication with a minor in Classical Studies. Vidas is one of the youngest Directors of Operations in the WNBA.

While studying at Lake Forest, Vidas worked with the Chicago Sky for four seasons in a variety of roles. After working as an intern during the 2015 season, Vidas was an equipment manager in 2016 and served as a Director of Operations assistant in 2017 and 2018. Vidas also worked in the athletic department at Lake Forest for four years.

Outside of her work during college, Vidas played on Lake Forest’s varsity handball team and won national titles in her freshman and sophomore years. She also earned All-American honors as a member of the handball team and she continues to play handball at the local and national level. Additionally, Vidas spent four years playing on the women’s club rugby team and led many student organizations on campus while staying active in the community.

Although she didn’t play basketball in college, basketball runs in Vidas’ family. Vidas still holds records at Taft High School, where she played on the varsity basketball team for four years. Her father, Kirk, played for Panathinaikos of the EuroLeague and was a member of the Greek national team for many years.

In her free time, Vidas volunteers as the national governor of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, a philanthropic organization founded in Atlanta.

Vidas’ parents, Kirk and Emily, and brothers, Nicholas and George, still live in Chicago. She is the youngest of the three children.

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