by Paul Jordan
Perhaps no player has seen his stock increase more dramatically as Westlake’s (GA) Marcus Thornton. When he signed with Clemson as a junior last November, it barely registered on the college basketball recruiting scale. He was considered a good, but not great player, and as a consensus a three star player. Thornton had a huge senior season in which the 6’7 PF averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds and as a result was named the AJC’s “Mr. Basketball” in the state of Georgia and a Parade “All American”.
When Clemson coach Oliver Purnell left the Tigers, Thornton found himself as the lone recruit for a coach-less Tigers and was granted his unconditional release from Clemson on Friday. Today, Thornton finds himself one of the hottest basketball recruits not named Brandon Knight-Doron Lamb-C.J Leslie-Terrence Jones-Josh Selby-Terrence Ross and as with all of those recruits, Kentucky is heavily involved in his recruitment.
To date, Kentucky has offered Thornton a scholarship, as has Florida, Texas, Auburn, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Alabama, and more. Memphis and Tennessee are expected to offer soon. Kentucky looks to be in good standing as there is already an in home visit planed for Kentucky.
The reaction of Wildcat fans over Thornton’s recruitment has been mixed. Some seem relieved that he would not be another “one and done” and other seem puzzled that Kentucky is pursuing someone with less than five stars by their name. In all fairness, Thornton will probably be listed as a four star player when the final rankings emerge and he has the potential to be a very nice contributor to this team.
On another note, the Wildcat’s pursuit of new targets over the last few days seems to give support to the speculation that Kentucky will have just four returning players on their roster. There has been more and more growing sentiment that Darnell Dodson will not be on the roster for next season and Calipari is recruiting like a man with nine spots to fill right now.
For those that may have misgivings (which will be unfounded) about Thornton, here is what ESPN had to say:
Thornton is a ‘tweener whose approach to the game is pretty simple: play your tail off for 32 minutes and see what happens. He should fit in perfectly in Oliver Purnell’s pressing system at Clemson as a forward that can guard multiple positions, while attacking the glass and plays with a high level of energy. He does a lot of the dirty work that doesn’t always show up in the box score, but leads to wins for his team. Most of his offense is out of transition or in the paint area where he does a good job of attacking the basket and finishing or drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. His perimeter jump shot is inconsistent, but he can play facing-up and is good enough off the dribble to get to the basket or create for a teammate. This kid’s motor runs; he has a chance to be a very good defender that is willing to dive for loose balls, take charges and fight for every inch in the low post.
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