Thiero Continues Tear In Win Over Trojans

Arkansas forward Adou Thiero has been nothing short of sensational to start the season, and he continued his tear in Friday’s 79-67 win over Little Rock.

The 6-8, 220-pound junior scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor to go along with eight rebounds, six steals and a pair of blocks.

Here’s what he had to say following the win:

Lessons Learned in Early Games

Arkansas has won all four of its home games comfortably to start the season, but there has been varying levels of drama in each outing.

After a stellar first half against Little Rock, the Razorbacks saw an 18-point lead dwindle down to eight before tightening up down the stretch.

“I think it’s like an eye opener for us — not really eye opener — but just us being able to see how much we’re developing, coming together as a team, our team chemistry being built. I don’t think there’s bad wins or anything, but you can always take something from a win or a loss, and I feel like we were just going to keep learning and keep growing together as a team.”

Literally Stealing the Spotlight

Thiero’s offensive explosion has been a major talking point, but everything he does has been fueled by disruptive defense. He currently inside the top 25 nationally in steals and steal percentage.

“What’s leading to all the steals? Just my nose for the ball, I’d say. Just being able to sniff out plays before it happens, just knowing whenever the ball is coming. Credit to the coaches, we go over scout team and everything. I can hear Coach Chin from the sideline, telling us what the other team is going to run. I just was able to make plays.”

Human Highlight-Reel

Thiero’s 17 dunks lead the country. He had four against Little Rock, including an absurd in-traffic windmill in the second half that has gone viral on social media.

“The windmill, my teammates get mad at me whenever I don’t do a trick or something. I was like, you know what, I might as well do a trick this time. I didn’t know the dude actually kept running behind me. I just jumped man, I got it still so it don’t matter. It’s all good anyway.”

Grinding Out Wins With Short Rotation

While it hasn’t always been pretty for Arkansas, the Hogs have found ways to grind out wins without being at full strength yet this season. As Thiero sees it, Arkansas has to continue to grow and improve until Brazile and Aidoo return to the fold as reinforcements.

“I think just being undisciplined. That plays a part in it, but at the same time, I’m not trying to use this as an excuse but we got like seven people who play right now. We’re waiting on our two bigs to comeback. I know me myself, I’ll be a little tired out there, still trying to push through, but we’ve just got to keep grinding. We’ll figure it out.”