John Calipari sees shades of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Immanuel Quickley in Adou Thiero

Kentucky freshman guard Adou Thiero continues to turn heads ahead of the 2022-23 season. He didn’t come to Lexington as the typical top-ranked recruit that head coach John Calipari usually brings in, but there are plenty of reasons why Thiero still wound up in a Wildcats uniform — not just because his dad used to play for Calipari, either.

Despite only being on campus for a few months now, Thiero is drawing rave reviews from those inside and outside the program. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game across four outings in the Bahamas before exploding for 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals in the annual Blue-White Game this past weekend in Pikeville.

From dominating the competition at Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale (PA) as a senior to starting at the bottom of the totem pole as a college freshman, it’s been quite the transition for the baby-faced rookie. And yet, he’s racing up that pole much faster than anticipated.

“Every day I think I’m always learning something new,” Thiero said at Media Day on Tuesday.

.@Adou_Thiero showed out at #BlueWhite

21 PTS, 12 REB, 6 AST pic.twitter.com/2MoznSQ0Me

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 23, 2022

Thiero initially committed to UK with the thought process being he would be a long-term project. The still-growing 6-foot-6 combo guard wasn’t even ranked up until picking the ‘Cats — a complete afterthought on the national scene — and was only bumped to three-star status once signing with UK. Five-stars Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston understandably stole the spotlight for the Wildcats’ ’22 class, and both will play significant roles as freshmen this season.

But Thiero’s trajectory schedule might need to be shortened a bit, even if it’s not on the same path as Wallace and Livingston. Calipari puts Thiero in the same breath as former ‘Cats such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Immanuel Quickley, both of whom were underrated (by Kentucky’s standards) when arriving in Lexington but are both now thriving in the NBA.

“Offensively, he was really good,” Calipari said of Thiero during Media Day. “And what, he’s behind some of the other guys, but so was Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). So you can take it like Shai or Immanuel Quickley. And every time you perform you prove you should be playing, or you don’t.”

The comparisons to SGA and IQ aren’t exactly apples to apples though. Gilgeous-Alexander was a four-star recruit and the No. 34 overall prospect in the 2017 class, per the On3 Consensus, while Quickley was a five-star ranked No. 20 overall. But you can see where Calipari is coming from. SGA has a similar playstyle to Thiero (both 6-foot-6 guards with budding offensive and defensive skills who work at their own pace) while Quickley needed a full season at Kentucky before breaking out as a sophomore and winning SEC Player of the Year

SGA and IQ both needed different amounts of time to fully adjust to the college game. Once they did, a leap in production quickly came with it.

That being said, none of them came to UK more unknown than Thiero. There’s a chance he could grow as tall as 6-foot-10. He’s still experiencing growing pains and is having to learn to play within his body on the fly, which makes his production throughout the preseason that much more impressive. He’s not anywhere close to being a finished product and is seemingly miles ahead of schedule.

“Now Adou, like I said, it’s all the other stuff,” Calipari added. “The biggest thing he did is he made jump shots, which he hasn’t made. But he made ’em in that. And I told him I was proud of him. And he went in with an attitude that, I’m going at dudes. And he did. And he’s physically able to do it. He’s still growing.”

Thiero has been quietly humble when asked about how he sees his role this season. He constantly refers to putting his head down, making plays, and just going to work. By all accounts, he joined Kentucky expecting not to play much early on, but with minor offseason injuries infecting the rest of the roster, Thiero has taken full advantage of his opportunities.

The Big Blue Nation would sure take Thiero turning into the mold of a Gilgeous-Alexander or a Quickley.