When the Virginia Tech men's basketball team traveled to Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut to play Providence on Saturday, it was an early-season matchup for the new-look Hokies. After a dominating win over Charleston Southern in their season opener, Virginia Tech was looking for an early-season statement win over the Friars.
It was an NCAA-Tournament-like atmosphere where the Hokies survived a last-second shot by Providence at the end of regulation before pulling out a 107-101 win in overtime. It was a huge win, but one where Virginia Tech freshman Neoklis Avdalas took the country by storm, more than he already had, including coach Friars Kim English.
Providence coach Kim English speaks highly of Neoklis Avdalas
Avdalas had quite the afternoon. He had 33 points, six rebounds, and six assists. It wasn't just one area of his game that impressed English, who joined the NBA Draft hype train for Avdalas.
“We knew how good he was,” said English. “That size, that good of a passer, he’s an NBA top-20 draft pick. He had a really good day.”
Yes, he did have a good day, Kim, we agree. When he verbally committed to Virginia Tech, he did so before going through the NBA Draft process back in May. When all was said and done, along with Tobi Lawal, they both withdrew from the process and made it official that they were both going to play basketball in Blacksburg this season.
There was a lot of hype surrounding Avdalas going into this season, and Hokies fans knew all about him, but after Saturday, he is taking the college basketball world by storm just two games into the season. English just said what a lot of people before Saturday were thinking about the NBA Draft, but now the rest of the country is finding out about Avdalas.