Virginia Tech picks roster-changing commitment from NBA Draft prospect

When Virginia Tech men’s basketball coach Mike Young vowed at the ACC Tournament that the Hokies were going to be a better team next year, the veteran coach wasn’t kidding. It was reported earlier this year that Young was going to have a bigger NIL package to work with, which should help get more transfers from the portal. 

To date, Young has added three incoming transfers from the portal along with some talented and promising freshmen. He got some key retention from players from this season's team, with the biggest one coming back being Tobi Lawal, who withdrew from the NBA Draft process. Another recruit is in the NBA Draft process, and if he withdraws, he’ll be a Hokie.

Greek forward Neoklis Avdalas gives verbal commitment to Virginia Tech

As we wrote earlier, CBS Sports has Virginia Tech in the Tier 4 category for next season, but they wrote that the Hokies were one “splashy” addition away from moving up. According to Euro Hoops, Greek forward Neoklis Avdalas gave a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech if he withdraws from the NBA Draft, which seems likely. If so, what a pick up for Young and the Hokies.

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.5 points a game in the Greek League this past season, and the 19-year-old would step right in and be a starter and big-time contributor for Young and Virginia Tech. That would be the “splashy” addition they were looking for.

If Avdalas does indeed come to Virginia Tech, Young would have a versatile lineup, and he could play with a bunch of different lineups. Avdalas would be one of the bigger recruits that the men’s basketball program has landed. Young wasn’t kidding when he said they would be better than this past season, but the bar wasn’t set as high as it appears now.