There is nothing baby about him. Maybe that’s why Sofoklis Schortsianides does not enjoy his nickname – “Baby Shaq.”
“I don’t know about the nickname,” the 17-year-old, 6-9, 295-pound Greek center told The Post in his first interview with an American reporter. “The nickname came because of my size. I don’t like to be nicknamed about another player. That’s his name. I have my own style. Hopefully the nickname won’t last too long. Shaq’s great. I’m a big player too but I want my own nickname.”
He is huge in every way – huge arms, huge shoulders, huge legs, huge mystery. Biggest mystery of June 26’s draft.
Today it’s being cleared up. With the Celtics, Schortsianides will conduct his first workout. He plans to work out for 12 teams. Next week, it’s the eager-for-size Knicks, who pick No. 9. A bull around the basket, he’s been projected to go as high as nine.
“He’s got a lot of baby fat on him,” said Tim Shea, the former Knicks director of international scouting now with the Suns. “Weight work should be his predominant focus. When you first see those arms, he looks like he should be playing linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, but potentially he’s got a great NBA body with hops. He’s still growing into that body. He could go top 15, depending on workouts.”
The whispers are he’s 6-8, which makes him less attractive since he’d have to play power forward and could prompt a fall out of the lottery. The fear is he could become a Tractor Traylor – a player with a weight problem. Though after a private workout Saturday at New Canaan (Conn.) High, Schortsianides looked muscular and fit for a 295-pounder. Sure he could a lose a couple of pounds, but he didn’t seem to have a weight problem. His mother, of Cameroon, was 6-4, his grandfather 7-2.
“I’m real excited,” said Schortsianides, who finished up his Greek season for Iraklis two weeks ago. “I want to go there and do my best. I work hard and show what kind of player I am. I’ve already had three years playing for the pros. I want a different level to make the next step.”
His Connecticut-based agent Marc Fleisher said a recent physical showed Schortsianides’ body fat at a low percentage. Fleisher says his height is 6-10 with sneakers.
“At the workout, I will show I’m not as short as they think I am,” Baby Shaq said. “I am about 208 centimeters.” He does not know the conversion, but that is a trifle less than 6-9.
“I feel OK with my weight,” he said. “I feel comfortable with my weight. If the team that drafts me wants me to lose weight, OK.”
Even at 6-8, he could play power forward with his bulk. “For my team I played center,” he said. “But on the national team, power forward. I feel comfortable in both. I am very strong. I watch Karl Malone and see how he plays.
“I have a jump shot,” he added. “I wasn’t able to use it because my team, they don’t want me to be outside. Because I’m so big, they want me around the basket. I hope workouts show my jump shot.”
He is visiting the U.S. for the first time, arriving last week, staying in Connecticut. Fleisher hired former Knicks assistant Steve Clifford to work out with the Greek prodigy for four straight days.
While not hooping, he went to the Empire State Building. He drove by Yankee Stadium. He’d love the Knicks to pick him. “I will be happy,” he said. “When I work out for them, I hope to show something good.”