McAdoo’s UNC career comes to end

Joel James might have been the last to find out.

And when he did, he struggled to find words to sum up his reaction.

The sophomore North Carolina forward widened his eyes and stiffened his neck, his face falling into the look of a kid who just discovered Santa Claus is a myth.

“Mac entered the draft?” he paused. “When?”

As James sat down for lunch at Sutton’s Drug Store, the news broke, inciting a frenzy on Twitter.

After three seasons in a Tar Heel uniform, forward James Michael McAdoo announced his decision to forego his senior year and enter the 2014 NBA Draft.

James didn’t know about the decision, saying McAdoo hadn’t told him before making it. In fact, the draft hadn’t been a topic of discusion much this season, James said.

But he wasn’t surprised about McAdoo’s announcement.

“Not really shocking,” James told The Daily Tar Heel. “I mean, everyone decides to do what’s best for them, and you know I wish Mac the best. And I’m happy for him. I’m proud for him.”

McAdoo will depart from Chapel Hill having scored 1,232 points and grabbed 640 rebounds in 108 games as a Tar Heel.

A two-time second team All-ACC honoree as a sophomore and junior, the 6-foot-9 forward was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounds this past season. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

Once a projected first-round draft pick after his freshman season, McAdoo chose to stay in Chapel Hill and build off his rookie campaign.

When the time rolled around to make a decision after his sophomore season, McAdoo again picked the thrill of March Madness over the June jubilation of hearing his named called on draft night.

But this go-round, it was time.

“I just feel I am ready to play at the next level and excited about that challenge,” McAdoo said in a press release. “I had chances to go after my freshman and sophomore years but was more excited about coming back to school then. Right now I am excited about fulfilling my dream to play in the NBA and do what I have to do to take that next step.”

James appeared to be upset at news of McAdoo’s departure. But he understood.

He understood that he and fellow forwards Brice Johnson, Desmond Hubert, Isaiah Hicks, Jackson Simmons and Kennedy Meeks will now have to work that much harder. He understood that his friend and teammate — who’d become like brother to him, he said — will not be in the locker room, in practice or on team buses come the fall.

But most importantly, James understood that McAdoo’s dream had been calling. And this time, he answered.

“As far as him leaving. Man, I mean,” he widened his eyes again before laughing. “I have no animosity towards it. I have no hard feelings or anything.

“That’s just the first step towards Mac achieving his dreams.”

sports@dailytarheel.com