Pretty Much the Only Thing Uniting Arkansas and Kentucky Fanbases

Adou Thiero, Mark Pope, Arkansas basketball, Arkansas vs Kentucky
photo credit: Craven Whitlow / Kentucky Athletics

It’s no secret that there has been plenty of animosity between the Arkansas and Kentucky basketball fan bases since John Calipari left for Fayetteville. 

The trash-talking from the Kentucky side only amped up after the Wildcats’ blazing start under Mark Pope, with wins over the likes of Duke, Gonzaga, Florida. Tuesday’s road win over No. 8 Tennessee stands as these new-look ‘Cat’s latest cherished scalp. 

Meanwhile, the train has come off the tracks in Fayetteville. After Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma, the Razorbacks’ hopes of an NCAA Tournament appearance are slipping into the abyss. 

For the most part, Big Blue Nation couldn’t be more pleased with the new order of things after Calipari’s departure and Pope’s arrival. Still, even amidst all the jubilation, one regret lingers.

The emergence of Adou Thiero was a predictable one after his entrance into the transfer portal back in March. After two years in Lexington, the forward saw his minutes and points more than double as a sophomore, jumping to 7.2 points per game, to go along with 5 rebounds. Thiero’s departure was thus noted as substantial by many in the college basketball world like Chris Fisher of CatsPause.com, who described it as “a brutal blow to the Wildcats.”

Thiero has seen his averages jump again to 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds since changing from blue to red. His rising draft stock reflects this improvement, as well as his added 10-plus pounds of muscle from a year ago, which in turn has contributed to his elite ability to nab offensive boards and get to the line, perhaps the only reason there’s a “1” in Arkansas’ conference win column.

That win over Georgia was sealed by a Thiero putback layup as time expired, a bold testament to his on-court growth. Off-court after the game, Thiero displayed his leadership by making sure that Boogie Fland was the first to celebrate with his team, even if it had to be via FaceTime.

Admirable On and Off the Court

It helps that Adou Thiero seems like a genuinely good guy.  That, too, went a long way toward him becoming a fan favorite in Lexington.

Arkansas basketball assistant Ronnie Brewer predicted of a sea of boos for the Wildcats-turned-Razorbacks on Saturday, but you may hear Kentucky fans shift their tone a bit when Adou Thiero is announced as a starter. 

“If there’s one thing that Arkansas and Kentucky fans can be forever united on, it’s their love for Adou Thiero,” Inside Arkansas’ Curtis Wilkerson said after the Georgia win. “Everybody loves that dude, and how could you not, man. For one, he’s a great kid. … It’s awesome to see him flourish the way he has.”

Thiero’s gritty play style represents the identity that Arkansas may have to take on after the loss of Boogie Fland and with a lack of shooters. It will certainly give the Hogs their best chance against the Wildcats on Saturday as it did in that Georgia game. 

With Fland’s untimely season-ending injury, expect Thiero to flourish even more, despite Arkansas’ inevitable struggles as a team. 

Kentucky Basketball Fans Express Their Desire 

Most Kentucky fans have far too much pride in ‘BBN’ to admit any form of jealousy toward the Arkansas program. That’s especially true with the Wildcats firmly inside the top 25, as there’s not much to be jealous about.

However, after Kentucky’s second straight SEC loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, some fans are taking to social media and message boards to admire the play of Adou Thiero, and how they wish he was still in Wildcat blue.

One fan on the Cats Illustrated message board wrote, “Watching Thiero rot on Arkansas is frustrating. He’s tough/exactly what we need.” 

That fan isn’t alone in that sentiment. Others added things like, “Reason number 1 why I wish Thiero had stayed. We need a big strong athletic PF.”

Another put the blame on Mark Pope, a rare occurrence in the Kentucky fanbase. “Pope should’ve done everything he could to keep Thiero here.” One last Kentucky faithful finally added, “He’s the one Arky player I wish had stayed at Kentucky.”

A Roundabout Arkansas/Kentucky Connection

Another fan comment that really stuck out regarded a name that most Arkansas fans will be plenty familiar with. The comment read: ”I would trade Robinson for Theiro right now.” 

The “Robinson” refers to former Razorback Jaxson Robinson, who spent his freshman season at Texas A&M before getting snagged by Eric Musselman in the 2021 portal cycle. Robinson spent a couple of years with Mark Pope at BYU before following him to Lexington with a good amount of draft talks behind him.

However, Robinson hasn’t taken the jump some expected. Despite still averaging nearly 13 points on 43% shooting, his defensive game is not particularly close to Thiero’s. Robinson has a defensive box plus-minus – an estimate of how many points per 100 possessions he contributes defensively compared to an average player – of just 0.6, whereas Thiero’s is a lofty 5.1.

Thiero also has a block percentage nearly four times higher than that of Robinson’s, despite them being nearly the same height.

Pope’s squad has been ravaged by injuries to Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa and, more fittingly for the Adou-swap argument, Andrew Carr.

Carr’s presence as a big man was severely missed in the loss to Vanderbilt. Based on Pope’s recent comments, which didn’t sound optimistic in the case of Carr, he probably wishes that Thiero was running the rim in Rupp this year.

However, Pope’s squad still clearly benefited from Robinson’s range as he knocked down four threes in Tuesday’s win over Tennessee to break a two-game SEC skid. Plus, the comment made on a Robinson/Thiero swap probably has much less to do with Robinson’s performance, good or bad, and more to do with Thiero’s impressive season in Cardinal Red.

Nevertheless, the more the season goes on, the more Big Blue Nation rues allowing Thiero to bid them “adieu” last spring.

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