The Rise And Fall Of James Michael McAdoo
By Ben Pickman
James Michael McAdoo was supposed to be the next great North Carolina Tar Heel.
The one time five-star recruit was one of the most maligned and polarizing players to college basketball fans and draft experts for three seasons.
After his freshman season, in which he put up underwhelming numbers as a backup frontcourt player to Tyler Zeller and John Henson — both current NBA players — McAdoo was expected to enter the NBA draft.
Had he entered the 2012 NBA draft, it is very likely that McAdoo would have been a lottery pick. Returning for his sophomore season, McAdoo was supposed to be the fulcrum of the Tar Heels offense, but his sophomore season looked a lot like his freshman campaign, just with McAdoo playing more minutes.
Had he entered the drafted after the 2013 season, he likely would have been a late first round pick because teams still recognized the potential and physical abilities that McAdoo possessed.
After a third and final season in Chapel Hill, McAdoo declared for the draft and after going undrafted, many wondered whether the inconsistent big man had lost his chance to play in the NBA.
But the Warriors decided to give McAdoo a chance signing him in training camp and eventually sending him down to the D-League to play for the Santa Cruz Warriors. The former UNC forward was one of the best forwards in the D-League, averaging almost 18 points and 10 rebounds per game for Santa Cruz, all while shooting 57 percent from the field. For the first time in his career, McAdoo looked like the fulcrum of an offense. He looked like the player many thought he could be when he enrolled at UNC.
Last week the Golden State Warriors signed McAdoo to a 10-day contract, the first of the two possible 10-day deals they can offer the 6-9’’ power forward.
McAdoo has played in two of three games so far. He scored 11 points and collected five rebounds in his NBA debut against the Nuggets and added three points in six minutes of play Friday night in the Dubs win over the Kings.
While both games present an incredibly small sample size, the Warriors will soon be faced with a decision of whether to bring back McAdoo or assign him to the D-League.
The Dubs should bring him back.
McAdoo looked quite capable in the Warriors win over the Nuggets. Even though the Warriors ended up winning the game by 43 points — not exactly a squeaker — McAdoo battled quite well against Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic, who has quickly become one of the best young big men in the league. Nurkic has already developed a reputation for being a bruiser and physically imposing center.
According to Sport Vu Stats technology, when on the floor, McAdoo has run 4.6 MPH. That’s about .6 MPH faster than the average power forward and is faster than Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, among other Warriors players. Though he has only played in two games and in small spurts, with speed comes energy, and McAdoo has provided the Warriors with energy and hustle.
Festus Ezeli continues to miss time with his sprained ankle and seems to be a very replaceable player. McAdoo could easily take Ezeli’s role in the frontcourt rotation. If McAdoo can provide any rim defense for the Warriors, then he will likely stick around for more than just a total of 20 days. If he can’t, then the Warriors will likely be forced to send him down to the D-League.
Even if they send him down to the D-League, they can still call him back to the Warriors later in the season.
It just means that once they sign him, he’s there to stay.