James Michael McAdoo Named Pre-Season All-American

North Carolina Tar Heels sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo has been named a part of the Sporting News’ 2013 Pre-Season First Team All-America team, the magazine announced on Monday.  As a freshman, McAdoo averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game last season.

Mar 23, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward James Michael McAdoo (43) dunks the ball as Ohio Bobcats forward T.J. Hall (13) reacts during the second half of the semifinals in the midwest region of the 2012 NCAA men

McAdoo is expected to take on a much larger role this season with the losses of Tyler Zeller and John Henson to the NBA Draft. McAdoo will be counted on to be the Heels top scorer this season and a major focus of UNCs offense.

I’m not a big fan of these Pre-Season lists, as we all know, Harrison Barnes became the first ever incoming freshman to be named as a first team Pre-Season All-American, setting unrealistic expectations for the former Tar Heel. But McAdoo’s inclusion seems spot on in my assessment, James Michael came to Chapel Hill with an extensive list of accomplishments with Team USA as a unanimous five star prospect.

McAdoo has a ton of talent and guard like skills in both the half court and the open court. His struggles early on as a freshman are more indicitive of his lack of playing time behind UNCs established stars. When given a chance at an expanded role, McAdoo shined in the post-season giving us all a glimpse of what he is capable of when given a chance.

SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Cody Zeller, Indiana
James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh

SECOND TEAM
C.J. Leslie, NC State
Michael Dixon, Missouri
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Alex Poythress, Kentucky
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State

THIRD TEAM
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State
B.J. Young, Arkansas
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Trey Burke, Michigan
Adonis Thomas, Memphis

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Alex Poythress, Kentucky
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, Indiana