UPDATE: Adam Gold and Joe Ovies spoke to Dave Telep on 99.9 The Fan this afternoon(full audio here.) In short McAdoo wants to play against better competition and thinks he can develop better at UNC vs high school. Telep also stressed that no decision has been made but one would have to be made in the next two weeks so McAdoo could finish up his final high school classes and get to UNC. Telep indicated that McAdoo would indeed be an instant impact player, he is simply that good, despite being a year younger than the rest of the freshman class.
McAdoo's mother told Yahoo! Sports via email that this was initiated from his end:
"This type of decision is very personal and is laden with both pros and cons," Janet McAdoo said via email. "When we have made a final decision, we will release that information to the press. We would like it to be known that we approached North Carolina with this prospect and it was in no way initiated by anyone at The University of North Carolina."
Two exit thoughts: First, is this an unintended consequence of the NBA age limit? Rather than being one and done, players can get two years in if they can get to school early. Also, if McAdoo is simply tossing this around as an idea why make it known? Does that fact it came out mean it is more likely to happen?
Original post after the jump.
According to Scout.com's Dave Telep, UNC 2011 PF is contemplating coming to UNC a year early. Telep mentioned the possibility on Twitter with a link to a premium article covering the details. McAdoo is a member of the Team USA U17 basketball team who will be playing in the World Championships this summer. McAdoo would have to find the time to finish his high school coursework in order to matriculate at UNC come August.
First thought: If you are Justin Knox, how does this news make you feel? You committed to UNC on the idea that you would be the #1 reserve off the bench in the post. If McAdoo shows up and by all account is an instant impact kind of player, isn't Knox getting screwed a bit here?
Secondary to that, given the dynamics of recruiting and how Roy Williams is planning to fill his spots, is it a good idea to mortgage the 2011 class to get an elite player now? What if McAdoo shows up then leaves with John Henson and Harrison Barnes after 2011. Doesn't that put you back in the same boat you were in this season where post help is concerned? Then again, given how fleeting it can be for players to be in college, maximizing Henson and Barnes by assembling the best team possible is paramount. In fact you could argue the foremost obligation Roy has is to the very next season. Correction per C.Michael in the comments:
Not an issue. According to the current CBA, all US players must be one year out of high school AND turn 19 before the end of the calendar year in which they are drafted. McAdoo will not turn 19 until January 4, 2012, thus making him ineligible for the 2011 draft.
If the new NBA CBA pushes it to 2 year out and 20 years old, then he won't be eligible until after his junior season.
And yes, this is just like what Duke did with Andrew Dawkins. UNC and Duke seem to live in a very small world together.
More details if they find their way past the paywall on Scout.com.