Eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes wasn’t quite enough to help push the Kansas women’s basketball team to a Senior Day win over No. 21 Oklahoma State on Sunday.
But it did produce a whole bunch of smiles.
That stat line above belonged to senior center Danai Papadopoulou, who made her first career start in her final game at Allen Fieldhouse.
While the player they call “Pops” delivered big time in the hard-fought 57-51 loss to OSU, it was her teammates who were interested in delivering for her after the game.
One by one, as they came out of the locker room, the Jayhawks talked with R1S1 Sports about what the 6-foot-4 Pops meant to the program and how delighted they were to see her have such a memorable moment on her big day.
“It was great seeing the crowd go crazy every time she made a shot,” said fellow big, Nadira Eltayeb, who has roomed with Papadopoulou for the last three years. “That was great for her. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but that was pretty cool. I just know it means a lot to her and that was a great Senior Day.”
It wasn’t just a great day. It was also historically significant.
The eight points and seven rebounds both tied Pops’ career-best marks in her 70 games over four seasons. And the two blocks she recorded set a new career high.
KU’s star sophomore S’Mya Nichols used a pretty powerful word to describe Pops’ near double-double.
“Her last game in the Fieldhouse, she dominated for sure,” Nichols said after the loss. “She did so good. We definitely needed her out there on the court. She had some big baskets and really big rebounds and her energy was so good. All she brings is energy and consistency every single day. And even with her hard classes she still comes through.”
Papadopoulou, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, who is praised by everyone who knows her for her elite intelligence, both as a student and a basketball player — she speaks four or five languages fluently and is majoring in engineering — has built a strong connection with everyone on the roster, even the transfers who have only spent this season with her.
“Even in just one year together, we’ve created such a great bond,” KU guard Sania Copeland said. “She’s someone I can always talk to, so seeing her go off on her big night was so incredible and I’m just so proud of her.”
Added guard Elle Evans, who did not play on Sunday because of injury: “I was so happy for her. Pops brings so much to our program. Not having her next year is gonna be super-sad. So, to see her come out here and play the way she did today, she’s just the most deserving person and it was really good to see her get good minutes and produce for us, I’m just so happy for the way Senior Day turned out for her.”
“She was awesome on the court and I’m so happy for her,” said Spanish guard Laia Conessa while smiling from ear to ear. “She works so hard.”
While her teammates who have become like family to her gushed about her performance, Papadopoulou’s actual family was at Allen Fieldhouse to watch it.
Pops’ parents, Lazaros and Natalia, have come to at least one game every year of her KU career. After arriving last Thursday, they’ll stay this time for about two weeks, taking in whatever Big 12 Conference tournament games their daughter plays, as well.
Stats or no stats, though, her father, a former professional basketball player in Greece who stands 7 feet tall, said just seeing the love and connection his daughter receives from her coaches and teammates has meant the world to him.
“It’s very important for me to see that she’s made so many friends and has another family,” Lazaros told R1S1 Sports. “This is the biggest win for her. It was fun to celebrate her and her four years here. She has one more home here. This is very important. And for it to be Kansas…. Kansas is very famous about basketball. Even in Europe, everybody knows the history of Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain. It’s really a big stage.”
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