Last month, ESPN predicted Neoklis Avdalas would be chosen in the second round of this month鈥檚 NBA Draft.
But Avdalas is joining Virginia Tech, not the NBA.
Virginia Tech announced Monday it has signed Avdalas, a 19-year-old guard/forward from Greece.
The 6-foot-8, 198-pound Avdalas withdrew from the NBA Draft on Sunday. Sunday afternoon was the deadline for international players to withdraw from the draft, which will be held June 25-26.
Avdalas is so well-regarded that he was one of 76 college or international standouts who were invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which was held May 11-18 in Chicago. By comparison, Tech鈥檚 Tobi Lawal, who entered the draft in April before withdrawing in late May, was not invited to the combine.
In its May 19 mock draft, ESPN predicted Avdalas would be taken with the third-to-the-last pick of the two-round, 60-player draft.
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ESPN rated Avdalas the No. 51 prospect in the draft in its May 30 鈥渂ig board鈥 of the top 100 draft prospects.
But second-round picks are not locks to make an NBA regular-season roster.
By withdrawing from the draft and playing for the Hokies, Avdalas can boost his stock for, say, the 2026 NBA Draft.
鈥淭his is a huge addition for our program,鈥 Tech coach Mike Young said Monday in a news release. 鈥淣eo is a highly sought-after talent with tremendous upside. His versatility is off the charts; he can impact the game in a variety of ways and is a three-level scorer.
Neoklis Avdalas, shown at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago last month, has signed with Virginia Tech.
鈥淣eo has the chance to be a difference-maker in college basketball, and we鈥檙e thrilled he chose to pursue that at Virginia Tech.鈥
Avdalas has spent the past two seasons playing in the top league of Greek pro basketball. He averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 18.5 minutes in 26 games for Peristeri in the 2024-25 season. He shot 43.6% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range.
He averaged 4.1 points and 15.3 minutes in 25 games with Karditsas in the 2023-24 season.
He played in two scrimmages at the NBA Draft Combine. He had eight points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 21 minutes in his first scrimmage. He had 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks in his second scrimmage.
“Avdalas is a fluid athlete with great size as a guard-forward, providing three-position versatility at both ends of the floor,” stated an analysis of Avdalas. “He’s lethal in transition and likes to play downhill, where he can finish through contact using good body control. The 19-year-old possesses a strong handle that’s effective running the pick-and-roll, in isolation, finishing off cuts and attacking close-outs, while also showing some playmaking chops as a secondary ball-handler.
鈥淗is mid-range game is strong and he鈥檚 able to finish with either hand around the basket, but his 3-point shooting will need to be more consistent in order to stretch defenses out. Avdalas鈥 motor, positioning and IQ only help his case as a solid defender, as he does a nice job of fighting through screens, calling out cutters/rollers, and rotating in help coverage.
鈥淎lthough not considered an explosive athlete, the positional size and strength mixed with Avdalas鈥 skill set, deceleration mechanics and body control matches the popular archetype we see in today鈥檚 NBA. If he can continue to improve his 3-point stroke, which he鈥檚 already done drastically in the past year, the Greek prospect could find a home as a depth piece who can operate as a point forward among all 30 teams.鈥
Avdalas is rated the No. 2 international player in the 2024-25 recruiting class by the 247 Sports website.
He will play for Greece in in the FIBA Under-20 EuroBasket tournament next month.
Avdalas becomes the second player from Europe to sign with the Hokies this offseason. Antonio Dorn, a 7-foot-center from Germany, signed with Tech last month. Dorn spent the past two seasons playing in the second-rung league of German pro basketball.
The addition of Avdalas gives the Hokies 13 scholarship players for the 2025-2026 roster.
Lawal is one of four returning scholarship players, along with Tyler Johnson, Ben Hammond and Jaden Schutt.
Young added three players from the transfer portal in April 鈥 former West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry, former Delaware point guard Izaiah Pasha and ex-UNLV guard Jailen Bedford.
Young also signed four high school seniors. Christian Gurdak and Sin鈥機ere Jones signed last fall, while Solomon Davis and Brett Freeman signed last month.
