John Calipari discusses growth of Ugonna Onyenso, Adou Thiero

As of three weeks ago, Kentucky had just two non-freshmen on their basketball team in rising sophomores Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso. They’ve since added West Virginia defect Tre Mitchell and gotten official word that star guard Antonio Reeves is returning, giving the ‘Cats a pair of senior to head into the season with alongside the youngsters. However, even with those two veterans in the picture, Thiero and Onyenso have to take big leaps and contribute much more than they did as freshmen.

According to John Calipari, those leaps are in progress. He got to speak to the media for the first time since the end of last season recently, and as part of the press conference, he revealed that both the sophomores are improving rapidly, while Thiero may still be growing.

“Well, both of them are way better,” Calipari shared at the press conference. “I mean, they have Ugonna projected in the first round.”

It’s true. ESPN’s latest mock draft predicted Onyenso to go in the early 20s next summer, with teammate and five-star freshman Aaron Bradshaw slightly behind him, which came as a shock to most Kentucky fans. But Cal wants to note that he isn’t the one placing those lofty expectations on his shoulder, though he has seen improvement from the big man.

“I mean, I didn’t project him in the first round, but he’s projected in the first round. I said… who’s watching us practice? Because he’s gotten better.”

The exciting update came on Adou Thiero, who was sort of a fan favorite in his limited minutes as a rookie. But when he did play, his bulldog approach and physicality really showed through — and that was him as a true freshman. According to John Calipari, he’s only further bulked up.

“You have Adou, who’s looking more and more physically like his dad, who I coached. He’s probably near 6’7 now and he could play multiple positions, probably three and four.”

That’s a big admission from Calipari that Thiero could play the four. If he really has taken another step up physically, he is absolutely capable of playing the four and playing it perfectly as an extremely versatile piece for the ‘Cats. Don’t sleep on him eventually taking that spot, if we’re to believe these rave reviews:

“But he’s way more confident,” continued Cal. “So yes, he’s better, he’s living in the gym. He learned from a year ago you have to spend time at this, it doesn’t just happen. It’s not just games, it’s about the preparation. So he’s been great, yes.”

The Thiero update oughta make Kentucky fans downright giddy, because he is going to be a massive piece for this upcoming 2023-24 team. Can handle the ball, play defense, rebound, draw fouls and even shoot a little bit — everything you could want in a modern forward.