I Will Reach The Summit: South Dakota's Tasos Kamateros

By Tasos Kamateros, South Dakota

9/17/2020 3:00:00 PM

Every Summit League student-athlete has a story and “Reaching The Summit” means something different to each one of them. In these features, we let our student-athletes share those stories in their own words. Thanks for taking a look.

My name is Tasos Kamateros, I am a sophomore at the University of South Dakota, and I want to talk about my journey to USD.

As a kid, I always remember catching myself thinking about being a professional basketball player. When I turned 14, I realized that I had the chance to make my biggest dream come true. I worked really hard on the court; I tried to improve my shot mechanics, my post moves, my finishes, everything. I also hit the gym to become bigger, stronger, and faster. This mentality and work ethic gave me the chance to compete at a high level in Greece and get the chance to play for the Greek National U18 Team.

I sent many videos of my highlights and I had been talking with a couple universities, but I had not found the one yet. At the age of 18, I had to face the truth that I didn’t have any good offers and that’s why I decided to stay with my team in Greece for one more year and keep trying.

And then USD came in the front and made me realize that this might be the one. I visited USD in February of 2019 with the help of a great friend and mentor, Lance Berwald, and what I saw made me really fall in love with this place.

The facilities, the coaching staff, the players, the community, the university, everything looked so crazy to me, because I have never seen something like that before. Even though the weather was much different compared to Greece, I knew that this program was the best fit for me.

I remember that I had a big smile on my face for at least a week; it was crazy for me.

Tasos Kamateros

After a couple of months from my visit, coach Gameli Ahelegbe texted me and said that they wanted me to join the team as a walk-on. I remember that I had a big smile on my face for at least a week; it was crazy for me. But I had to think about the challenges and the risks of coming to a college in the United States with nothing guaranteed and my parents had to sacrifice for me too.

Around June, 2019, my family and I decided that I will be a Coyote for the next season. And this is exactly what happened.

I came to Vermillion on the 15th of August and I had the same feeling again about this place. It felt like home, even though I was far away from my actual home. But I was very focused on my goal, which was to prove to the coaches at USD that I can be a big factor on the team.

I kept the same mentality and work ethic that I had throughout all the years in Greece and never stepped back from my biggest goal, which was to get the scholarship.

At the start, I wasn’t getting any playing time, because the team had good players in my position, so I had to work harder. I was patient and when I got the chance, I really went after it and didn’t regret anything.

I will never forget the game against Omaha, when coach (Todd) Lee told me to get in the game and not get scored on by their big guy. That’s exactly what I did; I didn’t get scored on once, I got five points, and I helped the team to get the win.

That might be the reason that I achieved my goal, but I never stopped working hard and setting more goals. I played well in many more games, I had a season high of 15 points and I was doing very well in practice and school too.

After the season ended with a bad loss in the quarterfinals, coach Lee called me to his office to talk about the season. I was very nervous because I knew that at some point he would talk about my future on the team.

We started talking about the conclusions for the season, my contribution on the team, my improvements and what needs to be improved on and many more important things, but nothing about my future after 20 minutes of talking.

Then, Coach Lee brings it up and says that they would love to have me under a full scholarship.

Then, Coach Lee brings it up and says that they would love to have me under a full scholarship. I remember that I lost my words for five minutes and then the only thing that I said before I left his office was, “Hey coach, I know that I haven’t said much but keep an eye on your phone, because I am sure that I am going to text you later.”

I got out of his office, called my family and told them about the big news. I could tell that they were so happy and relieved from the sound of their voice. That is how I accomplished one of my biggest goals and started setting more and more for the future.

My advice, for all the athletes who are struggling and thinking about giving up on something, is that if you really want something, you work harder and smarter than anybody and you never put yourself down. You have to always look up and be proud of yourself.

-Tasos Kamateros, South Dakota sophomore basketball player

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