Dear Hokienation, I am forever indebted, you accepted a young kid from Scarborough with open arms. This is always gonna be a place that I call home. I will never forget the first feeling of stepping on Cassell floor. Again Thank You. You are Loved dearly!🧡 pic.twitter.com/ojXxHzHnYR— Nickeil Alexander (@TheReal_NAW1) April 8, 2019
Thank you Nickeil!
[Mod Edit: Replace with actual message from NAW.]
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
As Expected.
Very cool. Good luck, Nickeil!
Thank you NAW
Make us as proud of your pro career as we were of your collegiate career
Thanks for everything, NAW. Go get paid.
Good luck Nickeil! Get that money.
Wish him the best.
His success in the NBA = success for VT.
Hope he kills it!
Bingo.
I really thought the Mike Young hire would convince him to stay.
He wouldn't have stayed, even if Buzz had.
I think we would have needed to hire someone of a higher caliber, such as James Johnson (assistant coach at NC State) to get NAW to stay.
It is been fun watching NAW play the last two years! Good luck to him in the pros
Get that money and represent VT. Could be a huge recruiting draw!
I hope he will help to recruit and re-capture the guys that want to be released from Tech commitments.
He's good enough to be a first round pick?
Yes definitely
High character, excellent passer, multipositional defender with ~40 3FG% gives him a really high floor. I think he could become a point guard version of Shane Battier (10+ year career, elite role player to quasi-all star, will retire with a ring). I see him doing really well on a team with an established ball dominant wing (e.g. Mavericks). I see him doing horribly with a team that would see him as their primary ball handler (e.g. Pelicans)
His ceiling is probably mid to late lottery. His cousin is playing really well for the Clippers...SGA's and NAW's game are similar so that should help his stock.
Not sure I would include excellent passer. He had a lot of turnovers.
He certainly has excellent vision - some of his turnovers were the result of trying to get the ball to the open man, but he often had a high degree of difficulty to make those passes. When he wasn't on the floor with J-Rob, defenses keyed on him and made it tough on him.
Since he's likely to more of a secondary playmaker at the NBA level and the floor is spread even greater than at the college level, he'll have a bit more room to operate.
That was my one complaint as well, he tried to showboat and make improbable borderline impossible passes a lot. As much as I love him as a player for VT, excellent passer would not be an attribute I would list for him.
He is a good passer. He's got top-notch vision for a 2 guard and makes passes that nobody else on our team (besides J-Rob) could make. He is a bit careless at times, and does make risky passes, but that doesn't negate his ability.
He tried to make the passes that 5 would make when he was out there, but didn't quite have the ability to fake out the defense that 5 did. Plus which, when he was doing it, he was out there without 5, which meant the defense had a way better idea where the ball was going. He was deadly when they were out there together because the defense had to stay honest on everyone, and the passing lanes were way cleaner.
I think right now he's projected to go somewhere around 21 or 22. He has been on most draft projections I have seen all year as going somewhere in the first round.
Are there any legitimate mock drafts that don't have him in the first round? Probably my NFL draft, paranoia but a bit worried when I saw "most" mocks had him going in first round. I thought he was universal first round pick.
He's definitely a first-rounder. I haven't been as high on his NBA ceiling as some, but he's an NBA talent for sure.
I'll be shocked if he's not taken in the first 20 picks, which is about where you need to go to basically guarantee making a roster.
The Ringer (the website I trust most) have him in their top 10.
Deep love for The Ringer.
That would be awesome! Obviously, I want him to get drafted high. Just got a little worried when I saw "most". Have felt our players have had bad luck with the draft.
by "trust most" I mean "I listen to Bill Simmons and the The Ringer NBA podcast religiously, those guys are the biggest basketball nerds on the planet".
He was talking about the OP... "most mock drafts"
I'll be floored if he isn't a lottery pick
Dude was a huge boon for our program. Best of luck to him and thanks!
Congrats NAW! Best of luck and go tear it up in the NBA. Maybe one day consider getting your name on a building at Tech with all that league money.
Or better yet, slide Joe a couple hundred grand a year for TKP
Deserves every penny. Really stepped up during JRob5's absence, and fed Blackshear.
It's going to be so strange to have a NBA team to watch and cheer for. I haven't actively kept up with the NBA since I was a kid, but I'll be pulling for whatever team drafts NAW.
Even the: Lakers, Knicks or Celts?
Celtics would be awesome. They are my team.
Yes! If all of those teams had a first round Hokie playing for them, I'd be a fan of all three.
Hope the Sixers can grab him. TTP!
Not entirely convinced he ready yet. That being said
10-4 good buddy.
Go get that bacon young man.
I think another year would have helped him, but I can see the desire to get out and make mad money. Good luck to him.
You never know. It's a strong class but the NBA is weird. They draft so much on potential and sometimes waiting can hurt a guy.
I watched the Washington game in Atlantic City court-side. In that game, NAW was the best player on the floor- despite what the box score might say. Super smooth, long, fast, can get to the rim, Buzz had him playing great D, and he can shoot from distance. A good 3 and D wing in the NBA, which is why he is going to be a top 15 pick. Will be great to root for a Hokie NBAer - not many of those.
Aw NAW, Hell NAW...
You will be missed, good luck!