The NBA Draft full entry list was released on Tuesday by the NBA and there were plenty of noteworthy things to take away from a Tar Heel perspective. As expected, senior guard RJ Davis’s name was absent and it strengthens the thoughts that he will be back for his final season of eligibility. The bigger revelation, though, was that a major transfer target was not on the list either.
Kentucky transfer wing Adou Thiero, who is one of the Tar Heels primary targets to replace Harrison, is not one of the 156 college players that were included on the list that was released earlier this morning. Thiero had been telling teams, primarily UNC and Pittsburgh, the top two schools in his recruitment, that he was planning on fully going through the NBA Draft process before making any decision in the portal.
His decision to not enter the NBA Draft means that his recruitment will have the heat turned up even more than it has recently. The Tar Heels entire staff visited Thiero at a restaurant in Lexington on Thursday as they continue to put pressure on Pittsburgh. The Panthers hosted Thiero, a native of the city, over the weekend and the rumors are they have a significant NIL offer on the table. His former coach, John Calipari, and the Arkansas Razorbacks are making a major push to land him, as well, with Calipari visiting him in Pittsburgh last week.
This past season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points per game while shooting 49% from the field, and 32% from behind the arc. He drastically improved his scoring output, and his field goal efficiency from his freshman season, where he averaged 2.3 points per game, on 35%.
The Tar Heels have work to do here, especially with Arkansas getting more involved here, but it’s hard not to see this staff going all in on him now that they know he is going to be playing college basketball next season.
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