UNC Basketball: James Michael McAdoo to Return For Sophomore Season

North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams has finally got some good news.  Freshman James Michael McAdoo announced today that he will in fact return to Chapel Hill and play for Carolina his sophomore season rather than declare early for the NBA Draft.  The Tar Heels desperately needed McAdoo to return after losing seniors Tyler Zeller and Justin Watts as well as Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall to the draft.

McAdoo originally said he would return after the Heels lost in the Elite 8 to Kansas.  He spoke about the future of the team and stressed his wish that the team learn from and build on the loss.  Shortly after it was revealed that he would think over his future with his parents on a weekend visit.  He was supposed to decide by Monday April 2nd, when that day came and passed with no word on his decision, panic set in across Tar Heel Nation.  All along McAdoo’s father indicated that he wanted his son to stay and he intended on staying, but also warned that playing in the NBA was his son’s dream, and the word from the draft had McAdoo as a lottery pick.

In the end McAdoo came to his senses and decided against making the jump this early.  What this tells me is that McAdoo took his time because he would have went pro if he was confident he would be picked early enough.  I would speculate that the information he received was inconclusive and he decided not to risk leaving after just one season.

"“I’ve had several discussions about my future plans with my family and Coach Williams and have decided to return to UNC to continue playing for the Tar Heels and continue my education,” says McAdoo. “I love being at Carolina and really enjoy competing with and being around my teammates and am excited about what we can do together next season.“Every young basketball player wants to have as much information about his future and understand what others in the game think about him. It’s been interesting to learn the information that Coach Williams has gathered, but I am ready to continue as a Tar Heel. I’m enjoying my time in Chapel Hill and am excited about the future for my team and me.”"

This is the smartest choice the young man could have made.  McAdoo has tremendous talent and I believe he ultimately will be a better NBA player than anyone that left the roster this season.  But before he enters the league he needs at least one season as “the man” for Carolina.  McAdoo struggled to adapt his game to the college level.  Coming off the bench in a limited role obviously was a major adjustment that he never really overcame.  McAdoo was able to blow up during the postseason when he was playing starter minutes for the injured John Henson.  He would have been faced with the exact same problem in the NBA.  Only in the league it’s sink or swim, unlike college basketball, your coach doesn’t care for you.  James Michael McAdoo didn’t just save the Tar Heels chances at contending next season, he just might have saved his basketball future.

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