It took some time, but Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Mike Young got the news he was hoping for this summer, two key pieces of his team withdrew from the NBA Draft and will be playing for the Hokies. One of them, Tobi Lawal, is a key returner, and another one, Neoklis Avdalas, gave a verbal commitment to Young if he withdrew from that draft, and he remained true to his word and signed to come to Blacksburg.
After a disappointing 13-19 campaign this past season, the Hokies got some key retention, added some nice players through the transfer portal, and brought in some key freshmen, along with Avdalas and Antonio Dorn from overseas. All of that should add up to a better season in 2025-26 and more excitement. Just how things end up playing out in terms of playing time, Young has a lot of time to determine that, but with Avdalas and Lawal officially back, let's try and predict the Hokies' starting five for next winter.
Predicting Virginia Tech men's basketball starting five for 2025-26
There are several ways that this could end up turning out, but with Avdalas in the lineup, it allows Young to play with different lineups.
Name | Position |
|---|---|
Izaiah Pasha | Point Guard |
Jailen Bedford | Shooting Guard |
Jaden Schutt | Small Forward |
Neoklis Avdalas | Forward |
Tobi Lawal | Forward |
Ok, so I know this may not be an ideal lineup for the Hokies, but a lot of the time, the starting lineup may be determined by matchups. However, we'll go with this lineup and Pasha, a Delaware transfer, getting the nod over Ben Hammond as the starting point guard. In the backcourt with Pasha, Bedford, a UNLV transfer, is someone who can shoot the ball once he gets going, but he is valuable on the defensive end.
Schutt struggled at times in his first season at Virginia Tech after coming over from Duke, but it was partly expected after he missed a ton of time in Durham with an injury. Once he got into rhythm you saw what a difference he can make on the offensive end. You have to think that he will shoot the ball better and be better with a full year under his belt for Young.
Things get interesting with the other two spots. Before Avdalas was officially coming, it would have been easy to play Antonio Dorn at center, but with Avdalas' talent and ability to do so many things on the offensive end, he needs to be in the starting lineup, really regardless of matchups. Lawal is the top returning Hokies player and someone who also will need to be on the floor as much as possible.
Some young returning players for Virginia Tech will have a say in who starts, including Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond. When the Hokies were eliminated from the ACC Tournament in the first round against California, Young vowed that he wouldn't go through a season like that again and that his team would be better next season. There are some interesting freshmen in the fold with Sin'Cere Jones, Christian Gurdak, and Solomon Davis, who will be interesting to watch.
On paper, he appears to have kept his word (and yes, I know, games are won on the court, not on paper) and his team will be better in 2025-26 and for Hokies fans, much more exciting.