Jon Rothstein was in Blacksburg and he sees big things for the Hokies this season.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2025-25 Virginia Tech men’s basketball team. It’s a nice change after what feels like a few lost seasons since the Hokies won the ACC Championship in 2022. Head coach Mike Young has a busy offseason. Young received more resources and used them to bring back top assistant Chester Frazier — a huge addition — and retool a roster that didn’t have a lot of ACC-caliber players last season.
First things first, Young worked hard to retain four players: senior forward Tobi Lawal, junior guard Jaden Schutt and sophomore guards Ben Hammond and Tyler Johnson. Next, Young attacked the transfer portal with three big pickups: junior forward Amani Hansberry (West Virginia), senior guard Jailen Bedford (UNLV) and sophomore guard Izaiah Pasha (Delaware).
Next, Young signed a full freshman class, which was heavy on size: forward Sin’Cere Jones (6-foot-7), guard Brett Freeman (6-foot-5), center Antonio Dorn (7-foot-0), center Solomon Davis (6-foot-11), and center Christian Gurdak (6-foot-10). The Hokies also have four-star football recruit Snook Peterkin on the roster. The 6-foot-3 Peterkin is also a terrific basketball prospect.
Are we missing anyone?
Oh yeah, there’s also 6-foot-9 freshman guard Neoklis “Neo” Avdalas, from Greece. Avdalas was the cherry on top of a solid offseason for Young. He signed with Virginia Tech in June after removing his name from the 2025 NBA Draft. Avdalas is considered a future lottery pick, but many believed he needed more seasoning, particularly on offense, so he chose college. He was recently named a five-star signee and is the most important pickup for the Hokies on the hardwood in years.
Avdalas can do it all, and the Hokies expect him to run the point this season and lead the offense. They haven’t hesitated to share clips of practices with Avdalas and his new teammates.
One of college basketball’s premier analysts, Jon Rothstein, was in Blacksburg on Tuesday and sees big things for the 2025-26 Hokies.
Rothstein said this season could be a return to relevance for the Hokies, who, with the addition of Avdalas, now resemble an NCAA Tournament contender.
Rothstein also offers high praise for Hansberry, who Rothstein said “recalibrated his body” this offseason.
On Avdalas:
Projected starting five?
More from Rothstein:
Can you imagine Pasha, Johnson and Hammond coming off the bench? That’s the type of depth the Hokies now have. Now, let’s just hope we can make it to November without some crazy happening like it has in the last two years (Rodney Rice and Hysier Miller).
It’s an exciting time to be a Hokie.
Category: General Sports
