Big hopes for a little-used Wildcat. ‘He will have a huge impact on college basketball.’
It’s common for John Calipari to pick a Kentucky basketball player and single him out for words of praise when that Wildcat hasn’t been playing much.
At various points this season, he’s done it, to varying degrees, with Chris Livingston, Lance Ware, Ugonna Onyenso and Daimion Collins. He’s also made Adou Thiero the subject of such praise. On Wednesday night — after the barely used freshman played a little more than three minutes in a 20-point victory over Florida A&M, his first game action in nearly a month — Calipari amped up the appreciation level.
Kentucky’s coach talked about how Thiero was the only scholarship player on this UK team who had yet to receive a true, extended opportunity to show his stuff in actual games. Calipari paused briefly, for effect, and made a statement that went beyond any he’d uttered in the recent past regarding players under similar circumstances.
“I’ll say this, and I’m not saying this lightly,” Calipari started, in full declaration mode. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but he will have a huge impact on college basketball. He will. Because he can play basketball. He’s tough physically. Plays better in the games than he does in practice, to be honest with you.
“He does stuff, I’m like, ‘Why? If you showed me all this stuff when we practiced — you’re building the confidence in me, too.’ But I’ll tell you, he’s a great kid. I love him. I hugged him, I said, ‘Look, man, I love you; you’re going to be fine.’ But it’s hard not playing.”
So far this season, Thiero has played in just four of Kentucky’s 11 games. According to UK’s official stats, he’s been on the court for 38 minutes and 2 seconds, by far the lowest total of the Wildcats’ 11 scholarship players. (Onyenso is next at 90:42 of playing time).
Thiero has 15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. He’s 3-for-7 from the floor, 1-for-3 from long range, and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Several months ago, that relatively meager stat line would have been expected. Thiero came to Kentucky as an afterthought to many. He wasn’t a highly touted recruit. He didn’t even have a star ranking when he received a UK scholarship offer late in his senior season, making him a major outlier in the five-star Calipari recruiting era.
There were zero immediate expectations when he committed to UK in the spring.
That thinking started to change when Thiero hit the court with aplomb during the team’s trip to the Bahamas over the summer. Eyebrows were raised. Perhaps this kid is better than people thought? And then came UK’s Blue-White Game in Pikeville, where a few Wildcats regulars were unable to play and Thiero again got fans excited, going for 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
When the season began, a major storyline around this Kentucky team was how Calipari was going to find the time to play everyone, Thiero included, following his impressive preseason.
The expectations had shifted. But the results, so far, should have probably been expected. Of course Calipari couldn’t find considerable playing time for 11 guys. And Thiero, predictably, is the one who has received the least of it.
But, along the way, Calipari has continued to praise his game. That’s predictable, too.
In this era of the transfer portal, where any player can switch schools in the offseason and find immediate eligibility at his new home, it’s important for coaches to make sure the players they want to stick around know they’re wanted. And Calipari and the Kentucky coaching staff have made crystal clear that they see big things in Thiero’s basketball future.
“He will have a huge impact,” Calipari reiterated to the Rupp crowd on his postgame radio show Wednesday night. “Will it be this year? It might be. He is the only one — I played him a little bit — but he is the only one that really hasn’t had the chance.”
What’s next for Thiero?
Calipari’s comment Wednesday that Thiero has been better in games than he has in practice is not a new one. The UK coach has said that numerous times over the past several weeks. And that kind of talk is often code for a player who is still learning where he needs to be and what he needs to do on the practice floor. When Thiero gets into games, he provides instant energy. And that makes him stand out. In those three-plus minutes against Florida A&M, he grabbed an offensive rebound, came up with a steal and dived on the floor for a loose ball right in front of the Kentucky coach.
No one will question that part of Thiero’s game. But with older, more experienced players ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s going to be difficult for him to make an impact, no matter how much those veterans might struggle.
Those struggles have amplified the push for Thiero to get more time, however. Just as a football team with an underperforming offense leads to the backup quarterback becoming — in the eyes of many fans — the clear key to future success, Thiero, as the only player yet to get extended run for the Cats, has become a popular symbol for those looking to turn around this UK team.
But this is a player still growing into his frame and trying to find his game.
Thiero — with 6-foot-6 as his officially listed height — underwent a massive growth spurt in high school and is almost certainly still growing. He talked in the offseason about literal growing pains that kept him off the practice floor. His hands are still getting bigger, which has affected his shot. He told the Herald-Leader a few months ago that doctors have said he could possibly reach 6-11 in height. His father, Almamy Thiero, was listed at 6-10 when he played for Calipari at Memphis. Adou’s mother, Mariam Sy Thiero, was listed at 6-4 in her days as a professional player. And his little sister, Oumou Thiero, is already 6-4 and just started her freshman year of high school.
It’s still not clear what type of player Thiero will be when he stops growing. In the meantime, his versatility and loosely defined role within this Kentucky team have made him a do-everything-type in UK’s practices, which surely makes it tougher to lock into a set spot and thrive there.
“Man, Adou — I got so much respect for him,” said senior guard CJ Fredrick. “This situation he’s in, it’s not easy for anybody. And that kid comes to work every single day and does everything Coach asks him to do. I mean, he plays the ‘5,’ he plays the ‘4,’ he plays the point in practice. He does everything, man. And he just has a positive attitude. So his time’s gonna come. And there’s no one I’m going to be happier for than him, when it comes.”
The Herald-Leader attended a UK practice leading up to the Michigan game in London, shortly after the Wildcats implored Calipari to allow them to scrimmage more in those sessions. The coach agreed. And those scrimmage teams stuck largely to the lineups at that time. That meant Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace and Antonio Reeves were on the same side. And that left Thiero to play point guard for the reserves. As Fredrick said, sometimes the freshman finds himself in other spots, even playing in the frontcourt with his next-level athleticism (41-inch max vertical at UK’s Pro Day) and length (6-11 wingspan).
He might be the most underused player on this Kentucky team at the moment, but Thiero is without a doubt one of the most intriguing Wildcats for the future.
“Like Cal always says, there’s always guys that, you know, you just have to kind of wait your turn,” Fredrick said. “And then it comes. Whenever it comes, you gotta be ready. He says that to everybody. That’s just not for him, that’s for everybody. … But it’s constant. He comes to work every day with a positive attitude.”
Calipari clearly hopes Thiero keeps coming with that approach and continues to stay patient before his place in this Kentucky program can reveal itself.
During his postgame radio show Wednesday, the UK coach was asked by Tom Leach whether he still likes Livingston at the “4” spot, something Calipari had talked about all season. Not really, he replied.
“I think I’d rather play Adou at the ‘4,’ with Chris in the game,” Calipari explained. “And now you got two 6-6, 6-7, strong, physical guys — if we had to.”
Leach pointed out that Thiero always seems to do something to impact the game whenever he gets a chance on the court. Calipari agreed. The coach seemingly started to say that he needed to get Thiero some more playing time, stopped a little short of that, then offered up the catch.
“That means someone’s gonna end up stepping back, if he’s stepping up,” Calipari said.
Next game
No. 19 Kentucky at Missouri
What: Southeastern Conference opener
When: Dec. 28, 7 p.m. EST
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 8-3, Missouri 10-1
Series: Kentucky leads 14-2
Last meeting: Kentucky won 83-56 on Dec. 29, 2021, in Lexington
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