McAdoo Returning Along with Hairston
James Michael McAdoo announced Tuesday that he will be returning for his junior year at North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels two of the three players that showed interest in the NBA, returning next year for the Tar Heels.
"Coach (Williams) and I have been talking about this since the end of the season and today my parents joined Coach and me in those discussions," says McAdoo.
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"I have decided to stay in school at North Carolina and play another season for the Tar Heels."
"I love this school and my teammates and I love being a North Carolina basketball player. There will certainly be a time when I want to play in the NBA, but right now I truly enjoy college life and I want to continue doing that for another season."
McAdoo was really the only post threat last year for the Tar Heels, scoring 14.4 points per game and grabbing a team high 7.3 rebounds per game.
McAdoo had to translate his game from being at the power forward position, to really being the main guy down low for the Tar Heels, playing both center and power forward.
The Tar Heels will have their two leading scorers from last year returning next year, in what will give them some experience on both ends of the offense.
Marcus Paige and P.J. Hairston will give the Tar Heels an experienced backcourt, as McAdoo will allow the Tar Heels to have a low post presence, allowing him to further work on his game for next year's draft, if he decides to leave.
McAdoo had the small lineup last year, but now will have multiple players, including incoming freshmen Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks, that Roy Williams will be able to use down low to help out.
McAdoo will look to become stronger in his post-game, but will need to continue his development on an outside shot, something close to what John Henson had developed later in his career at North Carolina.
Even though North Carolina fans had to deal with the news of Reggie Bullock declaring for the draft after his junior season, the fans will be a little more at ease with two of the three returning next year.
Now that everyone has made their decision, head coach Roy Williams will be able to look toward the future and develop his team around what he has next year, while making one last attempt at Andrew Wiggins, where he will visit next Monday.
McAdoo will have to play at the center position a little, much like he did last year, but now with the development of Brice Johnson and Joel James, while having the back up from the incoming freshmen, McAdoo won't have all the pressure of being the only down low presence for the Tar Heels.
But McAdoo will have to continue to develop his game and become a stronger force in the paint, something that the NBA scouts will be looking at with a keen eye throughout the year.