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Two years removed from Ohio State men’s basketball’s celebrated 2022 recruiting class, only one remains
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Disp / USA TODAY NETWORK
Bruce Thornton has been asked to do a lot since he got to Columbus, and now he is the lone holdover from the star-studded 2022 class.
Two years ago, the Ohio State men’s basketball team welcomed one of the top recruiting classes in over a decade. Now, just two years down the road, only one player remains.
The 2022 recruiting class was ranked No. 8 in the country and No. 2 in the Big Ten. It was viewed as the stepping stone after the Buckeyes saw Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell head to the NBA. It consisted of Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara, Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Bowen Hardman. Throughout the recruiting process, it was hard to tell who the best player in the class was since they were all so talented.
Now, instead of celebrating this class's return to campus as juniors, Gayle is in Ann Arbor playing for TTUN, Okpara is spending his final two seasons at Tennessee, Hardman is in Northeast Ohio at Akron, and Sensabaugh is entering his second season with the Utah Jazz after being a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft following a stellar freshman season in Columbus.
That leaves one player left: Two-year starting point guard, Bruce Thornton.
When Jake Diebler was named head coach after Chris Holtmann's firing, one player was key to retaining, and it was Thornton. Having a veteran point guard and leader like Thornton is invaluable when almost everything else is turning over.
The Buckeyes will likely start four transfers this year alongside Thornton in Meechie Johnson, Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw. It will be up to Thornton to steady the ship, and they will need him to do it early since they have a tough non-conference schedule.
During his second season as a Buckeye, Thornton averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting almost 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range, and 85 percent from the free-throw line. In a season filled with loss and disappointment, Thornton was constantly a bright spot and provided hope for the future.
Thornton also has a real chance to break some serious records at Ohio State. Through two years, he has started 70 games. The record at Ohio State is currently held by William Buford, who started 133 games in his career. If Thornton stays on the same track, he will break that record.
Also, Thornton is trying to hunt down the scoring record. In two years and 70 games, Thornton has scored 921 points. If Thornton averages 16.7 points over the next two seasons, assuming he stays on pace with 35 games per season, he will break the all-time Ohio State scoring record, which Dennis Hopson currently holds at 2,096 points.
Additionally, Thornton has yet to play in an NCAA Tournament game. Assuming the Buckeyes make the Tournament the next two seasons, Thornton has a chance to play 38-to-40 games in a season, making the record breaking more attainable.
Thornton has been thrust into impossible situations since he was a freshman. He started right away, was named captain as in his first year on campus, and faced the media after tough losses for two years.
Thornton is the last one left in a recruiting class that was expected to do high things in Columbus. He will play against Gayle this season, as Michigan is slated to come to Columbus in conference play, while Meechie Johnson, who hosted Thornton on his official visit to Ohio State, will now be his running mate in the 2024-25 season.
His longevity and commitment to this team should be praised. Once Holtmann was let go, he could have gone anywhere to finish his collegiate career — any team would take him —but he wants to cement his legacy in Columbus.
He needs to be part of a winning team, and he has two more years to do that. The personal accomplishments and accolades are there, and if the Buckeyes make a NCAA or Big Ten Tournament run with him as the starting point guard, he can go down as one of the top point guards ever at Ohio State.
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Disp / USA TODAY NETWORK
Bruce Thornton has been asked to do a lot since he got to Columbus, and now he is the lone holdover from the star-studded 2022 class.
Two years ago, the Ohio State men’s basketball team welcomed one of the top recruiting classes in over a decade. Now, just two years down the road, only one player remains.
The 2022 recruiting class was ranked No. 8 in the country and No. 2 in the Big Ten. It was viewed as the stepping stone after the Buckeyes saw Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell head to the NBA. It consisted of Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara, Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Bowen Hardman. Throughout the recruiting process, it was hard to tell who the best player in the class was since they were all so talented.
Now, instead of celebrating this class's return to campus as juniors, Gayle is in Ann Arbor playing for TTUN, Okpara is spending his final two seasons at Tennessee, Hardman is in Northeast Ohio at Akron, and Sensabaugh is entering his second season with the Utah Jazz after being a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft following a stellar freshman season in Columbus.
That leaves one player left: Two-year starting point guard, Bruce Thornton.
When Jake Diebler was named head coach after Chris Holtmann's firing, one player was key to retaining, and it was Thornton. Having a veteran point guard and leader like Thornton is invaluable when almost everything else is turning over.
The Buckeyes will likely start four transfers this year alongside Thornton in Meechie Johnson, Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw. It will be up to Thornton to steady the ship, and they will need him to do it early since they have a tough non-conference schedule.
During his second season as a Buckeye, Thornton averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting almost 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range, and 85 percent from the free-throw line. In a season filled with loss and disappointment, Thornton was constantly a bright spot and provided hope for the future.
Thornton also has a real chance to break some serious records at Ohio State. Through two years, he has started 70 games. The record at Ohio State is currently held by William Buford, who started 133 games in his career. If Thornton stays on the same track, he will break that record.
Also, Thornton is trying to hunt down the scoring record. In two years and 70 games, Thornton has scored 921 points. If Thornton averages 16.7 points over the next two seasons, assuming he stays on pace with 35 games per season, he will break the all-time Ohio State scoring record, which Dennis Hopson currently holds at 2,096 points.
Additionally, Thornton has yet to play in an NCAA Tournament game. Assuming the Buckeyes make the Tournament the next two seasons, Thornton has a chance to play 38-to-40 games in a season, making the record breaking more attainable.
Thornton has been thrust into impossible situations since he was a freshman. He started right away, was named captain as in his first year on campus, and faced the media after tough losses for two years.
Thornton is the last one left in a recruiting class that was expected to do high things in Columbus. He will play against Gayle this season, as Michigan is slated to come to Columbus in conference play, while Meechie Johnson, who hosted Thornton on his official visit to Ohio State, will now be his running mate in the 2024-25 season.
His longevity and commitment to this team should be praised. Once Holtmann was let go, he could have gone anywhere to finish his collegiate career — any team would take him —but he wants to cement his legacy in Columbus.
He needs to be part of a winning team, and he has two more years to do that. The personal accomplishments and accolades are there, and if the Buckeyes make a NCAA or Big Ten Tournament run with him as the starting point guard, he can go down as one of the top point guards ever at Ohio State.
Continue reading...