Is he Cooper Flagg? If not, yeah, not buying it.
This is probably the first excitement theyāve had since their run in the ACC tournament in 2022. So I understand their reaction. But when they go .500 in the ACC again this season, itās gonna be extra entertaining.
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I think this gets them to the Elite Eightā¦in the ACC.
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Has there been any reporting on why Avdalas picked Tech? If heās as good as advertised, why in the hell wasnāt there more competition for his services?
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They are allowing him to play pg (what he asked for) and giving him the green light to have ball in his hands and take unlimited shots (also what he wanted). Basically he wanted to go to a team that would allow him fully showcase his skills with little competition from other top level players. Itās a bit of a risk for Tech. Could be a boom or bust situation for them.
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Yeah but they have zero to lose
All the good will they gave Mike Young for dealing with crappy circumstances this year is going to be erased immediately and theyāre going to come for his head.
Their team got better (and massive props to them for keeping Lawal), but Iām not sure it got any better than the median ACC did this year?
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They have very little to lose, not nothing. This could rub some of the other incoming transfers the wrong way if heās basically a ball hog and or a bad teammate. If heās a bust or heās not used as promised could hurt them with any other future Europeans.
And as @tonyburnertt points out, this raises expectations probably to an unrealistic level for the causal fan.
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Good points. Nothing I love more than a VT team with expectations. Never ends well and fun as hell to watch from the sidelines
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Good for him, I guess. The whole situation just seems kinda odd to me. Iām just not sure why such a talented player would need those kinds of guarantees. Feels like both parties, Tech and Avdalas, are overreaching.
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Former VT star Jarrell Eddie is his teammate in Europe, and Iām pretty sure he was instrumental in setting that up.
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Quote from Arvin:
I understand why some pushed back at my recruiting claim but I stand firm in my assessment, this is one of the biggest recruits we have seen in a long, long time. Coming in as a 19-year-old there will already be some physical advantages, but he has been working against seasoned pro players, some just coming off time in the NBA. Based off the scouts I have talked to and people who have seen his skills up close I would not be surprised if he is one of the most exciting players in the conference next season.
Long way to go with that, and overhyping it will only get me beat up down the road, but I truly believe this kid has something special and will be under strong consideration for the 2026 NBA lottery with a strong season. This roster is night-and-day different than the one assembled last year and should have enough for an NCAA Tournament run. I am not going to make a prediction on that and what might happen if VT doesnāt get there but what I can say is there was already a buzz about how much the team had improved from the one week of practice and adding Neo into that only amplifies it further. Plenty to look forward to this upcoming season.
Love it when they have hope lol
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Greece is second only to Spain in the number of sheep in European nations. He felt right at home in Blacksburg.
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Arvin just doesnāt learn. 'Lottery" and āNCAA Tournament runā (not just tourney, but tourney run) are indeed going to get him roasted come Jan.
And if the basis of his hype is partly based on ā Coming in as a 19-year-old there will already be some physical advantages, but he has been working against seasoned pro players, some just coming off time in the NBA. Then want would he say about de Ridder lol
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Lottery for a 20 year old who wasnāt a projected lottery (or even 1st round) pick as a 19 year old even after going through testing and workouts is hard. Not impossible, but heād be beating the odds. More power to him and them if he makes it though.
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Yeah I think he just doesnāt know what lottery picks look like tbh. If he was one year away from being a lottery pick, heād be a first rounder right now, not heading to Blacksburg.
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Ewe!
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Good on him to keep that story alive. No one should ever forget that despite the holier than thou attitude and academic arrogance, UNC will cheat with the worst of them. They got out of athletic penalties by claiming that their academic fraud was widespread beyond just their athletic department. They should have lost their accreditation for that move.
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