Not good.
Well, this isn’t good.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Kentucky Wildcats sophomore forward Adou Thiero is entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Thiero becomes the first of what’s likely to be several transfers for the Wildcats.
Kentucky forward Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, source told ESPN. Started 19 games and averaged 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds this season.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 28, 2024
Originally a class of 2022 recruit out of Pennsylvania, Thiero appeared in 20 games as a true freshman, averaging 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds across 9.7 minutes per contest.
As a sophomore this past season, Thiero opened the season as a starter, but injuries led to him missing seven games. He gave Kentucky valuable minutes as a combo guard/forward who was arguably the team’s best defender.
In 25 games (19 starts), Thiero averaged 7.2 points (49.2% shooting and 31.8% 3-point shooting), 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game. He was easily Kentucky’s most physical player, and Calipari stressed getting more physical this offseason, so that’s already off to a rough start.
Adou’s father, Almamy Thiero, played for Coach Cal at Memphis between 2002-05.
This is a bad sign for John Calipari if he can’t keep the son of one of his former players in the fold. There’s a chance Thiero is just testing the waters to see what kind of NIL offers he can get, but this is not great news as Calipari looks to kick off the most important offseason of his Kentucky Basketball career.
It’s worth noting that John Calipari has been in the process of meeting with players for end-of-season meetings, which are continuing Thursday. Perhaps Kentucky is now expecting to return more players than expected, making Thiero feel he needs to look elsewhere for more playing time, but that’s merely speculation at this point.
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