North Carolina's McAdoo returning for junior season

After watching his NBA stock drop, James Michael McAdoo is returning to North Carolina for his junior season.

"I am ecstatic about having the opportunity to coach James Michael for another season," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said in a statement that was released shortly after the team's banquet concluded on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound McAdoo was ranked by most recruiting analysts as a top-five player coming out of Norfolk Christian (Va.), but played sparingly behind first-round picks John Henson and Tyler Zeller as a freshman.

This past season he averaged 14.4 points and 7.3 rebounds, but struggled to find his place on the offensive end of the floor. NBA executives are concerned about what position he will play at the next level, because he's not comfortable scoring in the post, yet doesn't shoot it well enough from the perimeter.

McAdoo's return, however, is a huge boost for the Tar Heels. North Carolina will lose senior Dexter Strickland and Reggie Bullock announced that he was leaving early for the NBA, but P.J. Hairston will come back, along with starting point guard Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, J.P. Tokoto, Leslie McDonald, big men Joel James and Desmond Hubert and a freshman class that includes Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks -- both of who are ranked in the top 50