Neo Avdalas could be one of UNC’s most versatile weapons this season, but the talented 6-foot-9 guard isn’t concerned with stats or individual roles. His focus entering Michael Malone’s first season in Chapel Hill is much simpler: just win.
There will be plenty of discussion about exactly what Neo Avdalas’ role should be for North Carolina basketball this season.
Is the 6-foot-9 Virginia Tech transfer the Tar Heels’ point guard? Does Terrence Brown handle those responsibilities? Can they simply share them? How much will Avdalas score compared to how much he facilitates?
Ask Avdalas, though, and the answer to the most important question is much simpler.
Just win.
That mentality was perhaps the biggest takeaway from Avdalas’ preseason press conference Monday as North Carolina continued preparations for Michael Malone’s first season as head coach. The talented sophomore certainly has individual aspirations, including eventually playing in the NBA, but his description of how he wants to play sounds exactly like the culture Malone is attempting to establish in Chapel Hill.
Avdalas referenced a message Malone regularly shares with his players from his time coaching Nikola Jokić in Denver. The three-time NBA MVP became one of basketball’s greatest players without making individual statistics his primary concern.
“He wants to win,” Avdalas said of Jokić before adding that winning is what matters to him as well.
That philosophy could be particularly important in UNC’s loaded backcourt.
Malone has already spoken highly of the combination of Avdalas, Brown and Matt Able, calling the trio one of the potentially most dynamic backcourts in college basketball. Avdalas gives Carolina something especially unusual because his 6-foot-9 frame comes with legitimate ball-handling ability, court vision and pick-and-roll playmaking.
Avdalas said he prefers playing point guard and believes one of his greatest strengths is operating in the pick-and-roll and putting teammates in position to score. But Carolina doesn’t need to assign traditional labels to every possession. Brown can initiate offense. Able can handle the ball. Avdalas can create. Multiple Tar Heels should be capable of starting the action.
That versatility becomes an advantage if everyone embraces Avdalas’ stated mentality.
There doesn’t have to be a battle over who is “the point guard.” There doesn’t have to be concern about which player gets the most shots or piles up the most assists. Malone can put the ball in different hands depending on matchups, lineups and situations.
For Avdalas, that approach appears to fit naturally.
He is certainly capable of becoming one of Carolina’s breakout individual stars. His size and vision made him one of Malone’s most important transfer-portal additions, and the head coach has specifically highlighted the playmaking traits that distinguish Avdalas from other players.
But perhaps the most encouraging part of Avdalas’ press conference wasn’t anything about his personal ceiling.
It was the simplicity of his priority.
Carolina has plenty of talent. It has multiple players capable of handling the basketball and creating offense. Figuring out exactly how all those pieces fit will be one of Malone’s most important preseason tasks.
If Avdalas’ approach is shared throughout the locker room, the answer might be easier than expected.
Forget the labels. Forget the statistics.
Just win.
