North Carolina forward James Michael McAdoo declares for NBA Draft

Mar 23, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward James Michael McAdoo (43) dribbles during the game against the Iowa State Cyclones in the third round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

While it certainly was not a foregone conclusion heading into the offseason before his senior season at North Carolina, power forward James Michael McAdoo will forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft.

UNC announces James Michael McAdoo will enter the NBA draft.
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) April 3, 2014

News that McAdoo will declare comes directly from a university announcement, so it is credible, but this one is certainly up for debate. McAdoo is currently ranked as the #60 overall player in this year’s draft class by ESPN’s Chad Ford, and in addition to that, he was being projected as the 45th overall pick for the 2015 Draft (after his senior season) by both DraftExpress and NBADraft.net before the announcement.

At one point in time, McAdoo was considered to be a surefire lottery pick, but returning to school for two additional seasons has hurt his stock, simply because his production (14 points, 7 rebounds per game as a junior) has been relatively underwhelming. There is certainly an argument against giving NBA teams more “tape” on a player when he is projected to go that high, and McAdoo is a pure example of that.

James Michael McAdoo will most likely be drafted when the NBA Draft arrives in June, but it won’t be where he was once projected, and that’s a shame.