Bob McAdoo's son was so close to joining FAU's historic run to national semifinal
Former North Carolina Tar Heel forward Ryan McAdoo was part of the 2022 NCAA Finals team that lost to Kansas.
McAdoo, son of Hall of Fame center Bob McAdoo, had a legitimate chance of being in the NCAA Final Four a second straight year but in a Florida Atlantic University uniform.
In an interview with The Palm Beach Post about his professional tennis-playing daughter Rasheeda, the elder McAdoo revealed that his 6-foot-5 small-forward son was close to attending FAU this past season. Ryan still had one year left of eligibility from the COVID-19 season.
But Ryan played in Italy for Novara this past season instead. Ryan speaks Italian, as his mother, Patrizia, is from Italy. She met Bob when he played there.
Ryan attended St. Andrew’s in Boca Raton, where the McAdoos reside, graduating in 2017.
“What ticked my wife off, he had an extra COVID year," McAdoo told The Post. “She told me before the year, 'Bob, see if you can get him in at FAU to play for this season.' I said, nah. He had an extra year and she was like, see if FAU would be interested. I nixed it. And look what FAU did."
The Owls had their best season in school history by far, making their first Final Four, losing at the buzzer to San Diego State in the semifinals but not before putting the school on the national map.
If McAdoo were part of the rotation, perhaps the Owls would’ve won the whole enchilada as Johnell Davis and Aliyah Martin could’ve used another wing scorer.
Ironically, McAdoo was still in the FAU arena a handful of times as a Miami Heat scout. He says he was the lone NBA scout he saw on the Boca Raton campus during its amazing season.
“(My son) was into it," McAdoo says with regret. “But he played in Italy last year and he’s back home."
In July, Ryan McAdoo is off to Las Vegas for a European camp. European League GMS and coaches scout American players during scrimmages.
“He’s a good shooter but he didn’t have my shooting mentality," said McAdoo, the NBA MVP in 1975. “I was like a machine gun. He’s more of a facilitator."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bob McAdoo's son was so close to joining FAU's historic run to national semifinal
