When Mike Young said that his team was going to be better in 2025-26 than they were this past season, he wasn't kidding. Now, we all know that games are played on the court and not on paper, but it certainly looks like the veteran Virginia Tech coach has upgraded his roster for sure.
He added three transfers, but the biggest addition came from overseas. Neoklis Avdalas of Greece visited and verbally committed to the Hokies if he withdrew from the NBA Draft process. He withdrew and ended up signing with Virginia Tech to make the commitment official, and along with Tobi Lawal, also returned from the NBA Draft process, which makes for two valuable additions for next season. Avdalas opened up the FIBA U20 Eurobasket with an impressive performance.
Neoklis Avdalas opens FIBA Eurobasket U20 with an impressive performance against Lithuania
Avdalas gave Hokies fans a glimpse of what is to come in Blacksburg next winter. In Greece's 84-65 win over Lithuania, Avdalas scored 17 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds while shooting 6-for-12 from the field, connecting on three of his seven 3-pointers and knocking down both free throws. All in a day's work.
Young had mentioned that Avdalas was going to join the Hokies later this summer, mostly because of the Eurobasket U20. Young spoke last month after Avdalas signed that he expected to have him to play a number of positions for Virginia Tech, including point guard. That would make sense if you watch some videos of him, as he is a player who can handle the ball, play multiple positions on the offensive end, and guard multiple positions on the defensive end.
There is no question that Avdalas is one of the best prospects to step on the campus in Blacksburg for men's basketball, and with Lawal returning, it gives them two players who have a good chance of being selected in next June's NBA Draft.