Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas has committed to North Carolina, sources told ESPN, giving new coach Michael Malone his first big addition with the Tar Heels. Avdalas, a 6-foot-9 native of Greece, averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a freshman in Blacksburg.
In the second game of his career, Avdalas had 33 points, five rebounds and six assists, going 5-for-8 from 3-point range, in a win over Providence. He skyrocketed up in NBA mock drafts on the heels of that game, looking like a projected first-round pick.
Avdalas didn’t build off the momentum of that game, however, with inconsistent production and shooting struggles throughout ACC play. He shot just 34.7% from the field against conference foes.
Despite the uneven play late in the season, Avdalas showed flashes of his ceiling, including a three-game stretch in which he averaged 17 points, four rebounds and five assists and shot 52.4% from 3. That run of games included a 19-point, five-assist performance against his future North Carolina team.
Avdalas went through the NBA draft process last spring, before withdrawing from the draft and committing to Virginia Tech. It’s the first big pickup for Malone, who took over for Hubert Davis earlier this month. Carolina has lost seven players to the transfer portal, but Jaydon Young withdrew and opted to return to Chapel Hill. Starting forward Jarin Stevenson also announced he will stay and play for Malone. Top-25 recruit Maximo Adams announced over the weekend he will keep his commitment with the Tar Heels.
Henri Veesaar has yet to decide on his future, while five-star recruit Dylan Mingo has not announced whether he will reopen his recruitment.
As for Malone’s coaching staff, the school announced last week that Malone had hired Arkansas’ Chuck Martin as the program’s associate head coach. He’s also hiring former Providence head coach Kim English to his staff, sources told ESPN. English spent five seasons as the head coach at Providence and George Mason and has high-major assistant experience at Tennessee and Colorado.
