Freshman drawing big-time attention
Off the court, Derryck Thornton is the average freshman. Ear buds in, sweat suit on, friends on each arm -- Thornton lives the normal high school life.
On the court, though, Thornton is everything but average. In fact, he's bordering on prodigious.
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A 2016 point guard, Thornton has hauled in scholarship offers from Arizona, USC, San Diego State, New Mexico, UTEP, Pepperdine and Northern Arizona.
"Part of it has just been playing hard, making the right decision every time down (the court)," Thornton said of his early success and attention. "I'm just learning right now, playing hard, and everything is going great. So I'm very excited."
His early college interest is warranted. Thornton dazzled in last month's Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. He's been so good, in fact, that coaches from California and SDSU have stopped by his games in recent days.
Despite the early recruiting, Thornton said nothing is standing out in terms of his future college.
"No (favorites), not yet," the Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon guard said. "I'm just open eyes."
Connecticut and Harvard could be the next to offer the wide-eyed freshman, who is diving into the recruiting process with both feet.
Thornton visited UCLA and Arizona recently, trying to find the right mix of academics, coaching and basketball for his future destination.
"I like it a lot," Thornton said of the recruiting process. "I like being able to talk to the coach and get to know them, so it's a good situation. I like it a lot."
For now, however, Thornton is working on improving through the next four years before he really starts narrowing college choices.
"Just working on being a point guard and everything," Thornton said. "Doing everything a point guard has to do. Making the right play every time down -- that's what I'm trying to work on as much as possible."
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