Adou Thiero issues statement on future. He could still return to Kentucky basketball team.
Two days after it was confirmed that Adou Thiero had entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal, the Kentucky basketball player released a statement on his future.
Thiero — a 6-foot-8 forward from the Pittsburgh area — posted a message addressed to UK fans on X on Saturday morning.
“After talking to Coach (John) Calipari, I feel it is best at this time to test the waters professionally, entering my name in the 2024 NBA Draft, while keeping all of my options open, including a return to Kentucky,” Thiero said in his statement. “I’d like to thank the fans, my coaches and teammates for their support over the last two years. I look forward to going through this process to determine the next step for me.”
Thiero did not mention the transfer portal in his statement, though the Herald-Leader confirmed Thursday afternoon that he had entered his name in that pool. Players who enter the 2024 NBA draft will have until May 29 to remove their name from consideration and retain NCAA eligibility. Thiero is not listed among the top 100 prospects for this year’s NBA draft, according to ESPN’s rankings.
Players who enter their names in the transfer portal can return to their current schools, though that is not the most common outcome.
Calipari has said in the days since the 2023-24 season ended that he would welcome any players back from the current roster, and he’s also stressed that the Wildcats need to be a more physical team next season. Thiero was one of UK’s most physical players this past season, filling a number of roles for the Cats over the past two years.
As a sophomore, Thiero averaged 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.3 minutes over 25 games, making 19 starts and missing eight games with injury, most of those related to back issues due to his ongoing growth spurt. Thiero will turn 20 years old in May.
Calipari has not yet issued a public statement or acknowledgment of Thiero’s potential departure. Thiero is the first of Kentucky’s 10 scholarship players with remaining college eligibility to make a statement on his basketball future since the Cats lost to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21.
UK’s players met individually with Calipari late in the week to discuss their futures with the program, and announcements on their stay-or-go decisions are expected to trickle out in the coming days.
“If someone says to me, ‘I’m coming back.’ I’m sayin’, ‘Under eight months, and we got the first game of the year. Let’s go!’ Just under eight months, and we’ve got the start of next year,” Calipari said on his radio show Monday night. “Because I want this taste out of my month, and I want it to go forward. So if any of them say that, that’s what my comment will be to them.”
Freshman guards Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are widely projected as top-10 picks in this year’s NBA draft, while Justin Edwards is viewed as a possible first-round pick and D.J. Wagner is on draft boards in the second round. Kentucky’s trio of 7-footers — Aaron Bradshaw, Zvonimir Ivisic and Ugonna Onyenso — are not consensus draft selections this year, though each of those players are included on ESPN’s list of the top 100 prospects in 2024.
This story was originally published March 30, 2024 at 10:09 AM.
