ATHENS (Greece) - It should probably come as a surprise to no one that a club known as "The Queen" would be quite partial to celebrating anniversaries.

Who could forget when AEK BETSSON BC celebrated their 50th anniversary of becoming the first Greek club to win a European competition? That year they went on to become the 2018 Basketball Champions League and 2019 Intercontinental Cup winners. 

Kevin Punter celebrating the conquest of the BCL title in 2018 amid AEK fans 

As the club is celebrating its centenary year (AEK BC was founded in 1924), they are hoping for history to repeat again this year. According to General Manager George Hinas the team and staff needed a refresh if they are to achieve that.

"It’s actually a very promising project, that started a couple of months ago. The only player continuing with us from last season is Flionis (team captain). We brought in 14 new players, which makes this project a big challenge," the GM of AEK BETSSON BC explained.

"We first met with coach [Joan] Plaza in Athens in May and already found an agreement on the style of play and goals for the team this season"

Whilst the execution of the project started only a few months ago, it's clear that doing something special for the centenary season had been on Hinas' mind for much longer than that.

In reality, the project had already started six months ago with a meeting in a hotel in Athens. 

"We first met with coach [Joan] Plaza in Athens in May and already found an agreement on the style of play and goals for the team this season," Hinas remembered. 

By the time the next meeting with coach Plaza had finished, AEK BETSSON BC was already on its way to starting the next chapter. Plaza himself was also already laser-focused on the details he needed in place to deliver. 

"In our second meeting, online, we immediately jumped into details about team and staff structure, player characteristics, and pre-season schedule," said Hinas.

To some, it might seem strange that a coach who is months ahead of signing a contract and officially starting a role is already concerned about when and where practice will be and what a pre-season tour will look like.

But for Hinas, that was just further confirmation that the man he'd wanted from the start was the right man for the job.

"I believe that basketball is clearly heading towards athleticism and shooting threes, elements that every successful team in the world has," the AEK GM offered.

"As soon as we decided that we wanted to go in that direction, I knew Coach Plaza was the perfect coach to do the job."

 Once the coach was in place, the next step was building the roster. No small feat, considering that this required signing 14 new players.

"I consider this part of the process [the two first video calls] very important in order to understand if the player has the motivation and passion that is required in order to play for this club and if he is ready to commit to the project."

Giannis Kouzeloglou and Omiros Netzipoglou were the first through the door in early July. Then came the signings of Jordan McRae and Mindaugus Kuzminskas before the end of July.

If AEK BETSSON BC didn't already have everyone's attention after that, no sooner had August started than they announced a signing that made the entire European basketball landscape sit up and take notice.

Ben McLemore, the former #7 pick in the NBA Draft for the Sacramento Kings, was coming to Athens.

And they were not done there. Almost immediately after McLemore, AEK BETSSON BC followed up that signing with Langston Hall, Mfiondu Kabengele, and Justin Tillman within the space of just five days.

The roster was then completed with the signatures of Manos Chatzidakis, Zois Karempelas, Thomas Kottas, and Alfis Pilavios. 

Anatomy of a transfer

How does a player like Ben McLemore, who averaged over 20 minutes per game throughout their NBA career, end up deciding that AEK is the club where they want to make their debut season in Europe?

 Well, much like any transfer happens for AEK with George Hinas leading the deal: it was a matter of patience and following a tried and trusted process.

"Once I lock in a target, I usually talk with him twice on a video call," Hinas stated.

"I consider this part of the process very important in order to understand if the player has the motivation and passion that is required in order to play for this club and if he is ready to commit to the project."

With McLemore, it was first a case of waiting to see if the opportunity would arise to get on a video call and have those conversations. 

"Things happened really fast," said Hinas. 

"We were expecting him to finish some NBA workouts but as soon as his agent said that he was considering Europe, we jumped straight in." 

Then it was about that conversation to see if McLemore and the club were aligned. Once it became clear that McLemore was also looking for a really competitive environment, it was also down to Hinas and coach Plaza to sell the project to the player. 

"We understood it would be an important decision for him, considering that it would be his first time playing in Europe and getting to know a different style of play," said Hinas. 

"He asked for 24 hours to decide."

The rest, as they say, is history.  McLemore's agent called George Hinas the next day with the news the AEK BETSSON BC GM was hoping for. 

"I always like to say that the court shows the real value of the players and combining this idea with the centenary anniversary, I believe we have nine very intriguing months ahead of us"

The future

A General Manager can only recruit the players. After that, it's down to the players and the coaching staff to show the fans who they are.  That is even more true for a club like AEK,  as fans have grown accustomed to seeing the spectacular.

For Hinas, that pressure is a privilege and with the BCL Season 8 just days away, he knows there is only one way to find out if this group has what it takes to deliver the kind of anniversary gift they have been planning.

"I always like to say that the court shows the real value of the players and combining this idea with the centenary anniversary, I believe we have nine very intriguing months ahead of us," he concluded.