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After playing in his native Greece in lieu of the senior season of his high school career, 4-star center Georgios Papagiannis is poised to possibly make his return to the United States in the next few months. And, according to a source, Temple is one of a handful of schools still in the running for the talented big man.

The 7-foot-1 Papagiannis, who played at Chester County's Westtown School before signing with the Euroleague's Panathinaikos, is considering Temple, St. John's, La Salle, N.C. State, Oregon and Kentucky among others. Maryland was once considered one of the frontrunners for Papagiannis but the Terrapins recently added 5-star center Diamond Stone and appear set at the center position.

In addition to the college route, Papagiannis could also ultimately decide to stay in Greece before making an attempt at an NBA career.

Whichever team lands Papagiannis would possess an NBA-level center that has competed at a variety of levels over the past years. After becoming the youngest person in history to appear in a Greek Basketball League game at 14 years old, Papagiannis excelled in the European youth circuit. In 2013, Papagiannis averaged 14.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in the 2013 European U16 tournament and was named to the all-tournament team as a result. Throughout the tournament, Papagiannis shot 47.3 percent from the field and led all players with 21 blocks.

Prior to the 2013 U16 tournament, Papagiannis announced he would play basketball at Pennsylvania's Westtown School, starting in 2013. As a junior at Westtown, Papagiannis helped lead the Moose to a 20-6 record in his lone season with coach Seth Berger's team.

After leaving the states last June, Papagiannis transferred to Greece's American School and appeared in just five games for the 2015 Greek Cup champion Panthinaikos. Papagiannis averaged just 3.6 points and four rebounds in 8.8 minutes of play but was the second-youngest member of the team. Papagiannis' contract with the Euroleague powerhouse did not contain any money for the first year and maintained his NCAA eligibility.

If Papagiannis ends up at Temple, his presence could take the Owls from an NCAA Tournament candidate to a potential Top-25 program. Papagiannis could, in theory, slide into Temple's starting lineup immediately and allow incoming freshman center Ernest Aflakpui more time to develop. Furthermore, an addition of Papagiannis would allow blossoming sophomore forward Obi Enechionyia to take the next step in his development. With Papagiannis in the middle, Enechionyia would be free to utilize his athleticism and outside shot more in order to stretch the floor.

A potential core of Papagiannis, Josh Brown, Quenton DeCosey, Enechionyia, Jaylen Bond and Devin Coleman, combined with with incoming freshmen like Aflakpui, 4-star guard Levan Alston and talented wing Trey Lowe, could lead Temple back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in three seasons. Without Papagiannis, Temple would likely continue to rely on defensively-minded center Devontae Watson as its starting center and be forced to play Aflakpui, who missed the majority of his senior year with a torn meniscus, significant minutes off the bat.

As of now, Temple has two scholarships open heading into next season. In addition to the potential late addition of Papagiannis, Temple could possibly add a 5th-year point guard. According to sources, however, it looks likely that the Owls are planning on entering the 2015-16 season with Brown as their primary ball-handler. Temple is also reportedly in the mix for players like Malik Ellison and Simeon Carter.

OwlScoop.com assistant editor Kyle Gauss can be reached at kgauss@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @kylegauss.

OwlScoop.com editor John Di Carlo can be reached at jgdicarlo@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @OwlScoop_com or @jdicarlo.