McAdoo staying, Bullock leaving

The North Carolina men’s basketball team took a hit on its perimeter Tuesday morning with the announcement that junior guard Reggie Bullock will be entering the NBA Draft instead of returning to school for his senior season.

But by Tuesday night, the Tar Heels felt a sense of relief knowing that they won’t also have to search for a replacement in the post. Sophomore James Michael McAdoo decided to pass on the NBA Draft for a second year and will instead return to Chapel Hill for his junior season.

He’ll join fellow rising junior P.J. Hairston as two of UNC’s top three scorers to return next season.

“James Michael’s decision says a lot about the University of North Carolina and his teammates,” coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “He truly enjoys the entire collegiate experience. It’s the reason he came to this decision.”

McAdoo’s decision came only a few hours after Bullock officially announced that he would not be returning to finish out his collegiate career.

The forward averaged 14.4 points per game and 7.3 rebounds in his sophomore campaign.

In a statement, McAdoo cited the college experience as one of the main reasons for forgoing the NBA Draft.

“I love this school and my teammates and I love being a North Carolina basketball player,” McAdoo said. “There will certainly be a time when I want to play in the NBA, but right now I truly enjoy college life, and I want to continue doing that for another season.”

The Norfolk, Va., native notched double-figure games a team-high 32 times last season, including nine double-doubles.

Though he was inconsistent through stretches of the season, scoring in single digits in consecutive games against Miami, Duke and Virginia, McAdoo finished the season with 11 straight double-digit scoring efforts.

“I am ecstatic about having the opportunity to coach James Michael for another season,” Williams said. “He’s an incredible young man who did some really nice things this year. He’s going to be an even better player in the future. Coaching young people like James Michael is what makes me enjoy coaching so much.”

McAdoo was projected to go as high as 19th in a preliminary mock draft by DraftExpress.

In his freshman year, McAdoo’s late-season surge in the ACC and NCAA tournaments pushed him to a lottery pick in many mock drafts. McAdoo chose to stay, anticipating that he would improve on his draft stock during the course of the season.

But after coming into the 2012-13 season with high expectations — a preseason All-America and preseason All-ACC selection — McAdoo fell short of preseason projections.

He, along with Bullock, earned second-team All-ACC honors.

Bullock, the team MVP of the 2012-13 season, was the last member of Williams’ 2010 recruiting class after the early departure of Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes last season.

“It’s been a great experience at Carolina and after talking to my family, the coaches and my inner circle of friends, I am ready to take the next step in my career,” Bullock said.

DraftExpress projects Bullock to be the last pick in the first round while other projections aren’t as optimistic.

Despite Bullock’s early exit, Williams will have few holes to fill with the return of Hairston and McAdoo and the addition of the No. 12 recruiting class, according to ESPN.

“I’m certainly looking forward to coaching P.J. and James Michael again,” Williams said. “They have grown a lot as young men in their first two years at Carolina, and I expect them to be fantastic leaders for us next season.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.