One of the many things in Quaker Valley product Adou Thiero\u2019s favor as he begins his NBA journey is his five-star intelligence for the game of basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a young age, Adou demonstrated a high basketball IQ, and we always felt he carried the \u2018it\u2019 factor,\u201d QV coach Mike Mastroianni said. \u201cBesides demonstrating high basketball skills, his intangibles in so many areas were equally impressive. His competitiveness, work ethic, leadership and willingness to be coached were apparent at a young age and he combined these with the highest level of confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say we felt in his young years that he was projecting to play high-level college basketball, but the important part we all missed was Adou saw himself playing in the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thiero, a former Kentucky and Arkansas hoopster, is listed as a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward with elite athleticism. He has a 7-foot wingspan and nearly an 8-foot-9 standing reach.<\/p>\n
The QV graduate was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers early in the second round of the recent 2025 NBA Draft. The Lakers moved up from the No. 55 pick to the No. 45 pick then completed a second deal to select Thiero at No. 36.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited for Adou,\u201d Mastroianni said. \u201cIn a few short years, he goes from playing high school basketball with his friends to being on the Lakers with LeBron James and Luca Doncic. Not sure you make up a better scenario for any young player aspiring to play in the NBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited for Adou\u2019s opportunity to play and learn from two of the all-time best players in the NBA and, more importantly, to be sought out by the Lakers franchise and their iconic history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thiero, 21, played two years for the Kentucky Wildcats and one season for the Arkansas Razorbacks. But he has not forgotten his roundball roots.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Adou has returned to the Quaker Valley gym to attend our practices and shooting workouts,\u201d Mastroianni said. \u201cAdou has an outstanding personality, and he connects well with others, which has always made him a great teammate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always an adjustment and learning curve when jumping levels, high school to college and now to the NBA. Adou has always been able to figure out and embrace his new roles and, once again, this will be a key factor as he adjusts to playing at the highest level.\u201d <\/p>\n
With his top-drawer command of the game itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the many things in Quaker Valley product Adou Thiero\u2019s favor as he begins his NBA journey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,398,400,401,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-24279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}