A new Adou for Kentucky basketball? Bulked-up Thiero ready for a bigger role in year two.

Back home in Lexington, a few days before embarking on this trip north for Kentucky’s summer exhibition tournament, Adou Thiero reflected on his first season as a Wildcat and looked ahead to the next phase of his college basketball career.

In an interview with the Herald-Leader that day, Thiero was asked what he learned most from his freshman year. There was a longer pause than usual as the 19-year-old thought it over. Then came an answer with conviction.

“You gotta compete,” Thiero said. “Very important. Competing and rebounding — it’s underestimated.”

At the college level, Thiero went on to explain, the two go hand in hand. He found out quickly last year that he could no longer rely on athleticism alone when trying to crash the boards against a higher level of opponent. He also learned that his coach covets players who can contribute in that particular statistical category.

“Rebounding is very important,” Thiero said. “In high school, you can just grab a rebound real quick and push it down the court. But now you gotta block somebody out. Everybody can jump like you.”

But even when that reality was driven home early last season, there wasn’t a whole lot Thiero could do about it at the time. He tried, he said, to assert himself on the boards and chip in where he could. He’d always been a solid rebounder — plenty athletic, for sure — but that wasn’t quite enough under the circumstances of his freshman season.

“My whole life I’ve been rebounding,” Thiero said. “But, coming in last year, I saw Oscar got all the rebounds. Every time I ran in, he got the rebound. But now when I run in, he’s not in there. And I can get it.”

Indeed, Oscar Tshiebwe — the reigning national player of the year when Thiero arrived on campus — led the nation in rebounds per game the past two seasons. Tshiebwe was responsible for 35 percent of UK’s total boards last season, and he grabbed 42 percent of their offensive rebounds. If Tshiebwe was on the court, and the ball was in the air, he was going after it. Much of the time, all any of his teammates could do was watch.

When Tshiebwe left Lexington this spring for the NBA Draft, it left a major hole that no one Wildcat would be able to fill. But Thiero saw it as an opportunity to make an impact.

“Oscar’s not on the court,” he said. “Now, someone’s gotta rebound. And I feel like I should take control of that.”

Thiero at the GLOBL JAM

Perhaps no player was more impressive — based on expectations coming in — during Kentucky’s 81-73 victory over Germany in the GLOBL JAM opener Wednesday than Thiero, who finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks — an all-around effort in which his competitiveness and physicality were on full display.

“If he rebounds the way he (did), he’s gotta be on the court,” John Calipari declared afterward. “Just what it is. I told them, ‘We all know that he’s gonna have to be on the court.’ Now, if someone else wants to play like that, now, OK, ‘Maybe you’re on the court.’”

No one else played quite like Thiero in Kentucky’s opener.

He came to campus this time last year at 180 pounds. By the end of the season, Thiero weighed 215 pounds, and he’s maintained that weight up until now. He said the physical transformation was a result of simply hitting the weight room when he was supposed to be there. “And I ate a good bit of Chick-fil-A,” he said, smiling but not joking.

It’s clear that Thiero’s frame — which underwent a major growth spurt late in his high school career — was built to naturally accommodate that extra weight, and with the added bulk came added strength. So when he played nearly 32 minutes in UK’s opening game here — a lot more than he ever played last season — the change was evident to anyone watching.

“He is so much better, so much more aggressive, so much more committed to the game, which has made him more confident,” Calipari said afterward. “I said he made the plays in the moment to rebound balls. ... Without either one of our 7-footers, you know, you’re gonna have to have someone come up and do it. Adou was good. He played well.”

Kentucky is playing this trip without injured big men Ugonna Onyenso and Aaron Bradshaw — listed at 6-11 and 7-feet, respectively — leaving 6-9 transfer forward Tre Mitchell as the team’s biggest player.

Thiero, who drew a lot of attention last summer for his growth spurt, said he doesn’t know how tall he is now. Hasn’t measured himself in a while, he claimed. Calipari keeps calling him 6-7. UK’s coach has been known to delve into hyperbole a time or two, but that number seems pretty close to reality. Add in Thiero’s impressive athleticism and length (he measured with a plus-5 wingspan at UK’s pro day last fall) and the makings of a mix-it-up, do-anything type of glue guy are there.

And Thiero is saying the right things about that possible role, too.

He played it to a certain extent last year, but he didn’t get enough minutes to make a consistent impact on a game-to-game basis. He was also used all over the court. He might play point guard in one game, then power forward the next day in practice, his positions and responsibilities shifting as a result of injuries elsewhere on the roster or general team needs.

Asked if he expected a more defined positional role this season, Thiero said he didn’t yet know. And he didn’t much seem to care, as long as he had a chance to make an impact.

“I didn’t really try and find the best role for me,” he said of last season. “I just — whatever I was shaky in, I tried to become better at that, so if I ever had to play that position again, I’d be good at it. And I’d be able to help the team. So I think I was just trying to be good at wherever he had me at that moment. …

“Whatever he asks me to do, I just know I’ll be prepared for it this year.”

More than a rebounder

If Thiero can rebound like he has been so far, he’ll stay on the court.

But while that might be a ticket to more playing time, it’s not all he can do.

In Wednesday’s opener against Germany, he scored one of UK’s first baskets by streaking downcourt in transition, absorbing contact from a bigger player, and completing an and-one play. It was the first in a series of shot attempts at the rim against much bigger opponents. His defense was also a game-changer. In one series, he ripped the ball away from a German player who had lowered a rebound to his waist. In the final seconds of the first half, he blocked a shot off the backboard to preserve a 39-36 lead, giving the Cats a major momentum boost heading into the halftime locker room.

In Kentucky’s 93-69 victory over host Canada on Thursday night, it was more of the same. Thiero was once again battling bigger players for rebounds, unafraid to put his body on the line while also making some finesse plays and impacting the game in a variety of ways. He finished with 11 points, tied a team high with six rebounds and ended up second on the squad with six assists. Thiero also drew a team-high three fouls and led the Cats with a +22 rating.

Through two games at the GLOBL JAM, only Mitchell has played more minutes among Kentucky’s players. Calipari wants Thiero on the court as much as possible, talking up his rebounding ability and all-around grit.

Offensively, that added weight should allow him to do more with the ball.

“Because I got stronger, I feel like I can get to my spots a lot easier,” he said. “I won’t have to rely on quickness as much. I can use my body a little bit more. So that’s definitely an important thing. And my shot — being able to hit open shots, being more consistent. That, too.”

Thiero said it all starts with staying in shape. To be on the court, he’ll need the stamina necessary to keep up that hard-playing style over the course of a 40-minute game.

Even when Bradshaw and Onyenso — two centers who could use a strength boost themselves — return to full health, the Cats will need help on the glass, especially in big-time, late-game situations when players are worn down and every possession matters.

“Those tough ones, somebody’s gotta get,” Calipari said.

So far, Thiero looks like the Wildcat for the job.

“He competes. And he works. He’s not afraid to get physical. He’s willing to do whatever it takes,” Mitchell said. “... He wasn’t afraid to go get it. He’s not afraid to put his body on the line. For him being as young as he is, and the transition he’s made — with his height and his weight — it shows you. He’s working.”

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