And thatās not figuring De Ridder. Really starting to feel like, with him, we can contend with Louisville & Duke.
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Classic Sodie.
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Nepo Daddy
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Looking forward to āHistory of the Packline - Soddie Cutā
No surprise there. Just gotta hope he stays in the draft.
Does anyone see them as a tourney team if he commits?
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They feel very bubbly. Have some really nice pieces but also some pretty below average ones too. If Avedelas doesnāt live up to the hype their back court is pretty bad with little depth
Tech needs a go-to scorer and someone who can take over a game. Is Avdalas that guy? Not sure. Without Avdalas, itās a team with some nice pieces but still lacking a playmaker. I think this certainly makes them better, but perhaps not in a way that consistently wins them more games.
The Greek GBL is about equivalent to the Bundesliga BBL (where GrĆ¼nloh plays) when it comes to First Division leagues, but still way behind the Spanish Liga ACB (where De Ridder plays) which is far and away the best European national league.
Looking at Eurobasketās overall club rankings: Eurobasket
Vechta, where Grunluh is effectively a starter-level player (Top 5 in points and minutes) is ranked 83rd.
Bilbao, where De Ridder is a Top 3 player (maybe their best player), is 61st.
Peristeri, where Avdalas is a rotational reserve (6th in minutes, 7th in points, 5th in assists) isnāt in their Top 100.
I think he could effectively be a 4-star recruit, but still not a Day 1 solution to their woes.
VTās roster with Avdalas:
| Starters | PG Ben Hammond (SO) | 29 G, 19.5 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 2.1 apg, 50% 3P% | |
| SG Jailen Bedford (SR+ Transfer, UNLV) | 33 G, 23.3 mpg, 10.2 ppg, 1.2 apg, 35% 3P% | ||
| G/F Jaden Schutt (RS JR) | 32 G, 26.2 mpg, 7.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 36% 3P% | ||
| PF Toibu Lawal (SR) | 30 G, 26.4 mpg, 12.4 ppg, 7 rpg, 56% FG% | ||
| F/C Amani Hansberry (JR Transfer, West Virginia) | 31 G, 23.6 mpg, 9.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 43% FG% | ||
| Reserves | SG Izaiah Pasha (SO Transfer, Delaware) | 34 G, 29.8 mpg, 11.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, 33% 3P% | |
| SF Tyler Johnson (SO) | 32 G, 25.5 mpg, 6.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 35% 3P% | ||
| F Neoklis Avdalas (4-star FR) | |||
| F Sincere Jones (4-star FR) | |||
| F/C Christian Gurdak (4-star FR) | |||
| C Solomon Davis (3-star FR) | |||
| C Antonio Dorn (3-star FR) |
I think theyāve got a nice enough perimeter rotation to do some damage. The deal with Avdalas is heās quality depth but not a needed starter. Mike Young is a āwhole greater than the sum of the partsā kind of coach, and bringing back four rotation players is meaningful in this era of total roster turnover; itāll be the difference in some early wins for them probably. I think the front court starting pair of Lawal and Hansberry is good, but obviously counting on rookies for depth.
Should be a fine middle-tier ACC team, make enough noise in the weak ACC, probably finish 10-8 or something but unlikely a NCAAT team barring some big non-conference wins. They have Providence (neutral site) and a weak-looking B4A (Colorado State, Saint Maryās, USF, Vanderbilt headline).
10 Likes
I think your starters are a little off. Theyāve basically guaranteed the Greek kid the starting g PG. spot. Entire reason heās going to Tech. The Delaware kid is likely pushed to SG with Schuett at the 3. My question is how bad is that 1-3 going to be on defenseā¦ā¦
As you can imagine, VT fans are not tempering expectations for Avdalas (Iām one to talk lol), and they are acting as though heās a generational piece. Iāve seen many suggest he will easily play his way into the lottery with one year at VT being the focal point of their offense (no denying the usage piece). Not much to get excited about with VT athletics so I get it, but this is also why I asked for a more level-headed analysis of their roster.
And to Forestās point about defense, I see that being their biggest weakness considerably. Especially on the perimeter. Avdalasā defense has been criticized already and was apparently really bad in the NBA scrimmages recently.
4 Likes
I donāt like their rotation quality, even with Avdalas. Schutt was a comical -3.0 by RAPM on Hoop Explorer last season (worst on their team by a lot). They were 14 pts/100 poss better with him off the court. Bedford is OK from 3 but doesnāt offer much else. Pasha is interesting, lived at the rim in a weaker conference, so we will see how that translates. Hammond had an alright freshman season relative to expectations. Tyler Johnson I like as an athletic guard who can play some D. The frontcourt starters are fine, but they need a 3rd big/forward to be useful.
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Greek kid has pro potential and is young/high upside kid. Hokies hoping he would hit. Has NBA interest for a reason
I miss Sean Pedulla.
Whoever they have on their roster, it will be must-see TV.
Also, fuck Bass Tech.
11 Likes
Heās listed as a 6ā8 SF above and averaging 1.2 assists. Is that not accurate? Genuinely asking, donāt know anything about the kid
Iāve seen multiple VT fans say he would be the biggest hoops commitment in their programās history lol
1 Like
Would he be? I really donāt know. All I remember is that at one point before Seth Greenberg got fired, he had Dorian-Finney Smith and Montrezl Harrell lined up. And Nikhil Alexander-Walker once went there. Were Dell Curry or Ace Custis big recruits at the time?
3 Likes