Neoklis Avdalas

PROFILE

FIBA U18 European Championship- August 2024
By Artau Pascual

Appealing mix of ball-handling and positional size. Not much of an athlete. The main problem with him at this point is that he plays with a glaring lack of aggressiveness that holds down his playmaking upside: doesn’t look to score at any level when he has the ball in his hands. Avdalas displayed his passing potential and poise. He’s good at identifying where his teammates are in halfcourt offense and despite not being exuberant, he takes advantage of his strides and frame to divide and assist in the open floor. However, since he doesn’t trust his jumper and he doesn’t use his strengths to go downhill, his playmaking is unlikely to translate to the next level. Opponents go under against him all the time. Lacks the burst and space-creation ability to score in ISO. Defensively, Avdalas possesses anticipation and size, but he’s just too passive on this end too. Could be more disruptive if he believed more in his tools. He can’t stay in front of ball-handlers because he always guards the ball in a high stance and his feet are slow to react and recover ground. Lazy on ball habits.

ANGT Belgrade- March 2024
By Luka Drca

Creative wing. The body frame looks okay. An average athlete with solid length. Talented offensive. Skilled with the ball. Decent floor vision and solid passing skills. Tries to be attractive in terms of no-look passes. In pick&roll situations, he looks for a roller as well as for the help side corner guy. Solid in attacking closeouts going either way. Not the best finisher around the rim. Careless with the ball. Shooting is not great, either. Poor defender. Okay upside. 


U18 European Championship- August 2023
By Artau Pascual

Tall playmaking wing. He adjusted to a secondary ball-handler role for most of the tournament because he was playing alongside other high-usage players. He has a good frame and is starting to add strength, but he still has room for improvement in his upper body. He needs to be more aggressive as a scorer to sustain the usage he has: he can go downhill and absorb contact, but he’s plain as a driver. Fluid on straight lines, but plays with high center of gravity and his handles are predictable. Footwork is good: he plays under control and always finds balance. Needs to speed up his shooting release off the dribble. Did some brilliant passes to hit cutters and rollers, and displayed a variety of tools like jump passes. Manipulates the game with his eyes. Makes plays with either hand. On the defensive end, he struggles to guard ball handlers because of his high center of gravity. Needs to be more engaged in the game when he’s helping or rotating. Grabs defensive boards and throws quick outlet passes to generate initial advantages.

ANGT Munich- January 2023

Tall ball-handler. He can guard a wide spectrum of wings and forwards. Avdalas showed his sky-high potential as a passer: he was elite at manipulating defenses and, although his teammates didn’t produce at a high level, he created plenty of easy looks. To increase his status as a ball-handler he must be more aggressive in the scoring area: he gets downhill thanks to his body, and also he’s able to exploit matchups in the post, but his scoring instincts are inconsistent. He also needs to work on his self-organization as an off-the-dribble shooter. 


General overview- October 2022

Neoklis Avdalas is a great-sized primary ball handler who has enough talent to slow down the game when he has the ball in his hands and run the possessions at his own pace. Currently, he is better at scoring off the dribble than at creating for his teammates, but he is a quick reader, and it's a matter of time he starts to consistently create advantages for his teammates. He plays with a very low center of gravity that allows him to create separation for his shots with ease. He isn't particularly explosive and hasn't shown great vertical leap ability, but the level of contact management he has right now demonstrates he has functional athleticism.

On the defensive end Avdalas has the tools to be much better than he has shown until now. He is often caught off guard and his defensive stance is not always the best against ball handlers. He needs to put more commitment in this area because a player with his hip agility and frame should be able to be a solid perimeter player defender and an attentive help defender. In his case it's a matter of effort, not of capability.

Greece U17 Championship - September 2021
By Pietro Cristofori

Avdalas has positional size, he is among the best Pick and Roll players of his generation: makes very good reads, attacks the basket and creates gravity. He needs the ball in his hands. He is always in control of his game and his body. He has to improve his ball handling and touch around the basket with his left hand. He has an average burst and he isn't comfortable yet when he has to create his own shot from the dribble .On defense he displays great hip mobility: he is able to guard faster players than him thanks to combination of mobility and versatility 

July 2021
Avdalas has an outstanding combination of size, body control, and skillset very difficult to find in a player of his age. His ball-handling skills are great, as he can play as a primary initiator from the perimeter, and his passing skills and reads are also quite impressive.