Derryck Thornton

Derryck Thornton
Thornton with Boston College in February 2020
Leicester Riders
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBritish Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1997-03-30) March 30, 1997 (age 27)
Woodland Hills, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Borac Čačak
2021-2022Kapfenberg Bulls
2022-presentLeicester Riders

Derryck Andre Thornton Jr. (born May 30, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball league. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, the USC Trojans, and the Boston College Eagles.

High school career

After attending Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles as a freshman, Thornton transferred to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada.[1] As a junior, he averaged 17 points and 6.2 assists per game, leading his team to a 29–3 record. He graduated one year early by taking courses online and at a local junior college.[2]

Recruiting

On April 21, 2015, Thornton committed to play college basketball for Duke over offers from Arizona, Kentucky and Louisville.[3] Coach Mike Krzyzewski convinced him to reclassify to the 2015 class to replace point guard Tyus Jones, who was leaving to play professionally. Thornton was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the highest ranked point guards in his class.[2]

College career

As a freshman at Duke, Thornton made 20 starts but saw his playing time fluctuate despite being the only pure point guard on the team. He averaged 7.1 points and 2.5 assists per game.[4] Following the season Thornton transferred to USC, choosing the Trojans over Kansas, Washington and Miami.[5] After sitting out a season as a redshirt, he averaged 3.8 points and 1.2 assists per game off the bench. As a redshirt junior, Thornton started 27 games and averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 assists per game.[6] He opted to transfer after the season as a graduate transfer and committed to Boston College after considering Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Auburn and St. John's.[7] Thornton averaged 12.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his final season at Boston College.[8]

Professional career

On August 27, 2020, Thornton signed his first professional contract with Borac Čačak of the Basketball League of Serbia.[9] He averaged 4.9 points and 1.5 assists per game. On December 17, 2021, Thornton signed with the Kapfenberg Bulls of the Austrian Basketball Superliga.[10]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Duke 36 20 26.0 .390 .325 .690 1.8 2.5 .8 .2 7.1
2016–17 USC Redshirt Redshirt
2017–18 USC 25 1 14.2 .363 .318 .852 1.4 1.2 .7 .2 3.8
2018–19 USC 32 27 27.7 .382 .286 .660 2.8 4.3 1.2 .1 7.7
2019–20 Boston College 29 29 31.4 .376 .263 .786 2.8 3.4 1.1 .2 12.7
Career 122 77 25.3 .380 .290 .744 2.2 2.9 1.0 .2 7.9

References

  1. ^ Keeley, Laura (November 11, 2015). "Duke's Derryck Thornton starting college basketball career in his own time". The News & Observer. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b King, Jason (December 1, 2015). "Duke's Derryck Thornton Finding Little Time for Growing Pains Under Coach K". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  3. ^ O'Donnell, Ricky (April 21, 2015). "5-star point guard Derryck Thornton commits to Duke". SB Nation. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  4. ^ Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (April 10, 2016). "Freshman PG Derryck Thornton will transfer from Duke". ESPN. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Derryck Thornton transferring from Duke to USC". Sports Illustrated. June 17, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Meehan, Jim (May 13, 2019). "USC grad transfer Derryck Thornton has Gonzaga on five-school list". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Hewitt, Steve (June 17, 2019). "BC basketball gets big commitment from grad transfer Derryck Thornton". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Borac tabs rookie Derryck Thornton in his first year in pro basketball". Eurobasket. August 26, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Skerletic, Dario (August 27, 2020). "KK Borac sign Derryck Thornton, Aleksa Novakovic". Sportando. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  10. ^ Heinrich, Stefan (December 17, 2021). "Kapfenberg inks Derryck Thornton, ex Borac CA". Eurobasket. Retrieved December 17, 2021.