A Scout’s Eyes: Adou Thiero | Growing into the Leading Man for Arkansas and Future NBA Draft Pick

Evaluating Adou Thiero's breakthrough junior season and NBA value for the 2025 NBA Draft and beyond.

As every kid with hoop dreams did and does, we all hoped and prayed for that transformative growth spurt. The difference between us and Adou Thiero is that not only did it happen, but it was expected. From his freshman year of high school to his current listing at Arkansas, Thiero has reportedly grown from a 5’7” guard to a 6’8”, 220-pound wing—just a massive growth spurt to be envious of for him!

Adou comes from a basketball family. His mother, Mariam Sy (6’4”), starred at NAIA Oklahoma City University before being drafted with the 33rd overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. Adou’s father, Almamy Thiero (6’9”), played under Coach Calipari for three seasons at Memphis before finishing up his collegiate career at Duquesne University (2006-2007). Adou’s younger sister, Mimi (6’5”), is one of the top players in the 2026 class.

Adou’s growing frame and game led to him becoming a consensus three-star prospect out of Quaker Valley High School (PA) and selecting Kentucky to play for Coach Calipari, just like his dad. After two seasons in Lexington, where Thiero advanced from a part-time player as a freshman to a starting caliber role player as a sophomore, he maintained his trust in Coach Calipari and followed him to Arkansas, where he broke out as the primary option and leader for the Razorbacks on a young squad that would eventually make the Sweet 16. Thiero’s junior crusade produced 15.1 PPG, 5.8RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, and 0.7 BPG in 27.5 MPG across 27 games (26 starts). How should we evaluate Thiero’s breakthrough season and NBA value?

Defense First

The key to immediate NBA playing time for Thiero will be his defensive versatility and playmaking (2.3 stocks per game). Over the past couple of seasons, the evolving wing has proven to be one of the most poignant defenders in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), if not the country. Arkansas routinely assigned him the opponent’s best perimeter scorer and sometimes tasked him with bigger matchups at both the 4 and 5 spots. As a wing, Thiero offers switchability (1 through perimeter-oriented 4s), a weak-side shot-blocking threat, and upside as a point-of-attack defender.

He’s a gifted athlete with NBA positional size on top of an assortment of explosive and functional physical tools that show up defensively. Thiero channels a blend of fluid movement skills, active hands, length, strength, anticipation skills, and quick-twitch athleticism to impact the game—whether he’s defending on or off the ball. He still must become more consistently sound with his defensive fundamentals, especially on closeouts (often too high and prone to shot fakes), but all of the tools are there for him to quickly develop into a plus NBA defender.

Offensive Value

That gifted athleticism really slaps you in the face offensively and fuels his best offensive asset: play-finishing. Thiero is a dynamite play-finisher with pogo-stick-like leaping ability that can finish above the rim for poster dunks, through contact, and around NBA size at the rim (63.6% FG at-rim on 140 attempts with 45 dunks). He thrives in the open floor and on timely cuts (97th percentile via Synergy) while operating as a significant out-of-area offensive rebounder (1.8 offensive rebounds per game) and put-back threat.

With the opportunity to grow as a primary offensive option for Arkansas, Thiero’s self-creation ability progressed a bit. He’s effective at utilizing clean footwork on jabs and rips to attack initial defenders for scoring and playmaking opportunities. Although still not a very creative or shifty scorer, Thiero is a physical slasher and capable shotmaker with adequate ball skills who is most effective when he’s playing downhill on direct line drives, dribble-handoffs, stampede catches, operating against bent defenses and getting to the free throw line (6.5 FTA/G, 68.6 % FT).

Wait, What About the Three-Point Shooting?

The only real blemish to Thiero’s breakthrough junior campaign was his unfortunate step back in his swing skill: three-point shooting. After shooting 32.3% from deep on 0.7 3PA/G (10-31 3PA) over two seasons at Kentucky, Thiero’s fledgling outside touch dropped significantly to 25.6% on 1.6 3PA/G (11-43 3PA) this season. Adding to the concern, there isn’t much versatility in his attempts (not a movement or off-the-dribble shooter despite some glimpses, largely a stand-still catch-and-shoot type), and his production still greatly diminished despite taking easier shots in theory.

On the optimistic side, there are two main takeaways. First, Thiero notably increased his three-point shooting volume. He more than doubled his attempts per game from last season (0.7 3PA/G to 1.6 3PA/G), made and attempted the most threes in one season in his career, and connected on more threes in one season with Arkansas than his two combined seasons with Kentucky.

Second, there is nothing egregious about his shooting mechanics or foundation. When you watch him shoot, he looks like a projectable shooter who can, at worst, knock down enough open shots to stay on the floor—and that’s definitely the hope. I’m certainly no shot doctor, but maybe cleaning up some of the minor issues that seem to emerge on his jumper at times (inconsistent balance and landing spots, can flick the ball at the release point instead of smoothly following through) could help change his current shooting trajectory.

Outlook

Thiero projects as a defensively tilted wing with NBA positional size that can defend multiple perimeter positions, impact games as a defensive playmaker, and dynamic play-finisher with functional ball skills. Eventually filling a 3-and-D role is ideal, but he must continue to grow as a shooter to fulfill it (career 28.4% 3P shooter on 74 3PA). Just like so many others in his position, how well Thiero shoots in pre-draft workouts in conjunction with his career marks will decide if NBA decision-makers believe their staff can develop him into a reliable open three-point shooter, which ultimately determines his draft stock.

Thiero is in that late first to early second round range for me. If he decides to return to school, making developments as a three-point shooter, self-creator, and multiple-level shotmaker are all areas that could solidify him as a first-rounder and potential Top 20 prospect in next year’s class.