Head Coach Mike Young Speaks About Neoklis Avdalas, Portal Acquisitions, Nelson Hernandez, Antonio Dorn, And More

"Am I missing anybody?" Was the end of the first extensive quote of when Virginia Tech Basketball coach Mike Young took to Zoom Tuesday afternoon to speak on the amount of transfer talent Virginia Tech has brought in after a portal season which has seen the Hokies bring in the likes of West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry, Delaware guard Izaiah Pasha, UNLV guard Jalien Bedford and most recently star Greek forward Neoklis Avdalas.

It is worth mentioning Young made that quote above after naming all of the talents listed above.

Avdalas was always going to be the talk of the town; rumors floating around had the international talent going in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft before Avdalas withdrew and committed to the Hokies.

Young took trips across the country to see Avdalas workout firsthand.

"[I] went [to see] him in Chicago, in a workout. I didn't know the Bulls were going to be there. The Bulls were there, [I] went to Dallas, and saw him down there."

Avdalas' agent Alex Saratsis, represented former NBA star Rudy Gay and when Virginia Tech assistant coach Chester Frazier grew up in Baltimore with Gay, that opened the door for the future partnership between Saratsis and Frazier.

"[I] Saw a lot of tape, and, you know, with this day and age, with all of these platforms, we had a chance to see a lot of his film from Greece. [I was] first made aware of him through his agent, Saratsis, who represents a number of great players." Said Young.

"Giannis, for one, from Greece, Bam Adebayo, with the Miami Heat... He [Saratsis] called Chester, and this was a long time ago. This was maybe early April in it's been a constant, you know, back-and-forth, since then. Not always guaranteed that it was going to work out. Certainly not after his play at the combine in Chicago, but, you know, again, really excited about having him on campus in a very near future."

Avdalas is not the only European name Young is bringing over. In early April, Virginia Tech offered German center Antonio Dorn, who played for VfL Kirchheim. Dorn committed to the Hokies later that same month. Dorn played in the second division of German basketball for Kirchheim, where he averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game while shooting 67.5% from the field.

The 7-0 Dorn however, has hit a roadblock not yet being able to see the team thanks to visa issues.

"Dorn is not here either. We're having some visa issues talking to colleagues in college basketball. That's been an issue for a number of us. We're going to have to get some help in that regard. I don't think, certainly don't anticipate, you know, any major hangups. I think we can get him over here. Hopefully, you know, as I said, with Neo late July, hopefully with Dorn.  Hopefully, we can get that Antonio here for the start of the second session of summer school."

Young later further explained the issue with Dorn.

"Yeah, I talk to him a lot. I mean, he's chomping at the bit. I think the kid is sitting there on the couch with his bag packed and ready to ready to go." Said the Hall of Fame Wofford coach. "He wants to get over here yesterday. But, you know, with some of the policies that have been put in place, here we are, and we're trying to work through that with, you know, a variety of people within the state of Virginia and see if we can get some relief in that area."

The Hokies' basketball program made a big shift when it announced in mid-April the hiring of Nelson Hernandez as the team's general manager.

Hernandez spent time at West Virginia, where he served as director of player personnel/recruiting last season in Morgantown.

"I started going down that road around Christmas time, and Nelson was with Mike Boynton [former assistant under Young]...And that was the name that Mike gave me. Now, we were in the midst of things in December, early January, and I called Chester about a general manager, and Chester recommended Nelson Hernandez."

 I didn't know that Nelson was with Chester at West Virginia. Matter of fact, Nelson helped bring Chester to West Virginia when Darren [DeVries] was putting his staff together last spring when he got to Morgantown." Said Young

Young met with Hernandez in the winter where there relationship was kickstarted.

"I drove to Charleston, West Virginia, in mid-January on a day off.  And we sat down and we talked for three hours. And that kind of started our relationship, that went back and forth...He's a good one. [I am] pleased that he's here. He's outstanding, to talk to him daily, about roster construction, and you know, what's next, and our current roster, he's had a significant impact already in a short period of time on campus.

Young spoke at length over his newest transfer players, the likes of Hansberry and Pasha were touted as four-star transfers by 247Sports from West Virginia and Delaware, respectively, and the former Rebel, Bedford, as a three-star.

"Yeah, I love Pasha. I really, really like him, golly day, he's big. I've never had one like that." Said Young.

"I've had some great ones. I've never had one at 6-5 and as explosive athletically and as fast. He's really fast. He's 200 pounds now, and I just talked to our strength coach. David [Jackson] thinks he'll play next year, 208, 209. He's a man, and a good ball handler, [he] really sees the game. Marty [Ingelsby] did a heck of a job with him at Delaware last year. I really like him. He's going to be a really good player in the ACC."

Young talked about Bedford next quoting "[He’s] shifty can make a shot, the Mountain West as we all recognize a really good league.  He was a good player in that league and talked to Nico Medved [former Colorado State head coach], Leon Rice [Boise State head coach], and Steve Alford [Nevada head coach], who all had good things to say about him as a player. So [I am] excited about him."

Hansberry was a name sprinkled throughout the press conference regularly, as he was frequently paired with talks about Frazier, as Hansberry twice moved with Frazier from Illinois to Morgantown, and from West Virginia to Virginia Tech.

When asked about the different makeup of this year's team in comparison to Young's typical three-point game, Young related Hansberry.

"I am a little concerned to be, frank, about this, is a good shooting team here, June 17th. This is not a great Virginia Tech shooting team, and we have made a lot of hay through the years with kids who could really shoot the ball.  Now, we've got better. Amani Hansbury's gonna step out and shoot the ball well. He was at 30% at West Virginia last year that should go to 36-37%."

Young then spoke about the "strides" Tobi Lawal was making from beyond the arc. And how he believes his squad will be able to space the floor.

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