I feel like this kid isn’t talked about enough, he’s 6’6’’ and still growing, doctors said he’d grow another 3 to 5 inches. I think he’s the biggest “what if” this program has seen in quite some time. Cal better play this kid because “what if” he doesn’t and he transfers, and then turns out to be great? What’s everyone’s opinion on the kid?
Adou Thiero
- Thread starter WildcatBarnett
- Start date
Well get to talking.
Joking. He’s not being talked about much bc frankly he’s not very good right now. I doubt he’s comfortable with his body due to how much he’s grown in such a short time. Also, kids like this tend to transfer out before they ever do anything.
Hope this situation is different and he contributes here in a year or two. We will see.
Joking. He’s not being talked about much bc frankly he’s not very good right now. I doubt he’s comfortable with his body due to how much he’s grown in such a short time. Also, kids like this tend to transfer out before they ever do anything.
Hope this situation is different and he contributes here in a year or two. We will see.
I hope he’s Victor Oladipo remade. Shows flashes this year, really a contributor next year, and then is ready to be a star his junior year.
Last edited:
There was some pretty good posts about him here about a month ago or so.
Sounds like a great young man with a strong work ethic.
Good frame, and sounds like more height coming which could hinder some coordination at times unfortunately.
Seems to have a desire to be good on both ends of the court.
I'm excited to have him.
Not real excited about his off hand with his shooting form but it must work for him
Sounds like a great young man with a strong work ethic.
Good frame, and sounds like more height coming which could hinder some coordination at times unfortunately.
Seems to have a desire to be good on both ends of the court.
I'm excited to have him.
Not real excited about his off hand with his shooting form but it must work for him
Well so do I bubba. Lol. I’d take that all day. I just hope he sticks around at this point. I do think with his family’s connections to Cal/IK, he has a much better chance to stay than others in similar situations in the past.
I wrote a bit about him last month when I had opportunity to watch practice.
Seemed like he had a lot to learn on offensive side of ball in terms of picking up drills, etc.
Shot well and has good handles.
Biggest upside I saw from him was foot speed and range. He was very very impressive in defensive drills to the point where I could see him getting minutes just for that. He closed out incredibly quickly...just looks like a kid who is built to be an defensive stopper.
Excited for his future.
Seemed like he had a lot to learn on offensive side of ball in terms of picking up drills, etc.
Shot well and has good handles.
Biggest upside I saw from him was foot speed and range. He was very very impressive in defensive drills to the point where I could see him getting minutes just for that. He closed out incredibly quickly...just looks like a kid who is built to be an defensive stopper.
Excited for his future.
He could play a few minutes, like Hawkins did as a FR, but not many. But I’m pretty sure he came here knowing he has a lot of ground to make up to be at the level of his teammates. And so probably did not have expectation to play much as a FR. But all that will be determined on practice court.
You can tell by his comically long shoes in his high school highlights that he’s going to grow more.
Will be interesting if he gets to 6’8-6’9 with those guard skills
Will be interesting if he gets to 6’8-6’9 with those guard skills
I hope he stays and develops too but his dad transferred out of Memphis when Cal was there so that doesn't inspire much confidence that he will stay long term. He may actually get a few minutes here and there this season because we are very short on guards.
Write this down, so you can remember to re-post this thread in three years.
Junior Kentucky wing Adou Thiero was named the MOP of the Cats' Three-Peat win in the NCAA FInals on April 7, 2025, edging out Sophomore Reed Sheppard, who had been the sentimental favorite of Kentucky fans to bookend his father's award in 1998.
But no one denied that Adou had earned it with his smothering defense throughout the tournament and unstoppable drives on the basket.
It was a satisfying outcome for Thiero, who was lightly used during the Wildcats' championship run of 2023, then found himself stuck behind the tandem of Wagner and Dillingham in the 38-2 season of 2024 which also culminated in a title. But his patience paid off.
Junior Kentucky wing Adou Thiero was named the MOP of the Cats' Three-Peat win in the NCAA FInals on April 7, 2025, edging out Sophomore Reed Sheppard, who had been the sentimental favorite of Kentucky fans to bookend his father's award in 1998.
But no one denied that Adou had earned it with his smothering defense throughout the tournament and unstoppable drives on the basket.
It was a satisfying outcome for Thiero, who was lightly used during the Wildcats' championship run of 2023, then found himself stuck behind the tandem of Wagner and Dillingham in the 38-2 season of 2024 which also culminated in a title. But his patience paid off.
Last edited:
How is his ball handling? I'm guessing he is a bsckcourt player. You think he could fill in well enough in a game for 2-3 stretch in case of foul trouble or something?
Unfortunately, I think this thread is Much Adou About Nothing.
He was a PG in high school. Looked comfortable and fluid.
My opinion is that this topic is hilarious. You really want to make demands on a HOF coach over playing time for a kid you have labeled a "what if"? Who does that? Shouldn't the amount of PT be predicated on in-game production, not a gut feeling about future production?
My opinion is also, I'm happy to allow Coach Cal to decide who plays, and how much PT they get. If they transfer, they transfer. Nothing can stop a transfer anymore. With the new Transfer Portal (free agency) rules we just saw about 1,500 basketball players pick a new school this past year.
i disagree…what are you gonnadou about it?
Really hope this guy sticks and is one of those hero upper class man types. He reminds me of old school basketball where he dreams of coming here and puts In the work
He is the 10th man so I don't think he merits much talk. Just like the 12th man Allen didn't. Abou isn't from Kentucky so there won't be a similar obsession.
I think we ought to begin a counter for the number of times that joke gets re-used. You can take pride in being #1.
As Keats wote:
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding Adou;
(That would be Karl Keats the sportswriter.)
Hm, growing fast and a lot, offensively behind, going to be a big guy with guard skills, defensive stopper, sounds like AD. I guess I would take that
I want him to be Deandre Liggins by his junior year. I think that’s a reasonable expectation. If he’s willing to stay here.
Yeah I noticed that too. Lol. Kinda weird situation but maybe it was with Cals blessing? Who knows.
His dad played 3 years at Memphis and then transferred but had to sit out a season. And only played in 5 total games his first two years before he contributed some in his third year. Nice try though.
He will likely be a lot bigger than Liggins by then.
Honestly, if he grows and continues to develop the guy could be a total freak....in a good way.
Quite possibly, I just would like to see him play that role.
I think that happens. Sometimes the writing is on the wall and there aren't hard feelings or anything just a better opportunity.
Thiero transferred to an A10 school and dealt with a ton of injuries while at Memphis. Believe he had two seasons cut short and missed an entire season with an ACL.
Doesn't seem like an instance where he just didn't play because Cal didn't want him to....not that you insinuated that, just saying...
I can’t help but side eye these “he’s going to better than a lot of people expect!” posts because it seems like there are a few every year and very rarely does that turn out to be the case for 4* freshmen top 25-50 type guys. We’ve had a some — SGA and Herro come to mind. Likely he’ll be a light contributor as a freshman and all we can do is hope he sticks around and develops here.
I’m not sure what you think I’m trying. He sat out his last year at Memphis with torn ACL. Got degree at Memphis
We all know Cal gives minutes to guys who defend. That will get him clock more than anything.