Kentucky is expressing heavy interest in a top transfer portal guard
Kentucky basketball is in hot pursuit of a starting point guard, with guys such as BYU’s Rob Wright, Washington’s Zoom Diallo and LSU’s Dedan Thomas garning heavy interest, but there is another guy that could potentially join them in the backcourt. According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the Wildcats are showing ‘strong interest’ in Virginia Tech guard Neoklis Avdalas.
But it isn’t just Mark Pope and his staff going after Avadalas hard. According to Rothstein, Arkansas, Michigan, UNC, St. John’s, Florida State, Texas and Oklahoma State are among those recruiting him the hardest. On top of that news, Rothstein added that the 6-9 guard is not expected to take any visits before making his decision. Meanwhile, the Kentucky staff conducted a Zoom meeting with Avdalas on Wednesday.
Kentucky was expected to show heavy interest from the jump and to no surprise, they are among a number of top suitors for the 6-9 versatile guard, who spent time playing in Greece before coming to college last season. There is a reason Avdalas is getting so much attention. Getting comparisons to Luka Doncic, Avdalas’ size is what makes him so dangerous. At 6-9, he is classified as a combo guard, although most of his time is spent at the two or three spots on the floor. This past season at Virginia Tech, Avdalas averaged 12.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 38.6% overall and 31.4% from three-point range.
The 6-9 guard’s versatility is so, so intriguing, especially when you think about what a guy like him could do in Mark Pope’s typical offensive system, which he is in fact working hard to get back to this offseason after struggling with that this past season. Avdalas is a guy that really can drop 30 points on any given night. His best game with the Hokies was a 33-point game against Providence, shooting 5-8 from three, dishing out 6 assists, and grabbing 5 rebounds. Many describe him as a unicorn, and rightfully so, as his versatility allows him to score in bunches and find teammates for open shots.
Avdalas is a very intriguing prospect and one that Pope should continue heavily pursuing and try his best to reel him in to Lexington. The 6-8 guard will have three years of eligibility remaining.
