Thornton taking in schools
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One of the class of 2016's elite prospects, five-star point guard Derryck Thornton Jr. would ultimately like to make an early decision. As such, he is knocking out some visits.
The No. 9 player in the class of 2016, Thornton plays an extremely busy schedule at Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep and in a situation where there is usually a fair amount of roster turnover from one season to another. But Thornton has been a rock.
As a junior, the 6-foot-1 point guard has really stepped up into a leadership role.
"It has been helping me a lot," Thornton told Rivals.com of his increased leadership. "This year they have put me in the position where I can lead to my maximum ability. We have great players on this team that want to learn and want to be led."
More of a pure point guard in that he is best at setting up others via dribble drives and then maximizing his own scoring opportunities, Thornton has elevated his all-around game. He is dangerous with the pullup jumper in transition and has gotten stronger and more explosive.
"I think just being a vocal leader has changed this year," said Thornton. "My jump shot is getting a lot better and I'm more comfortable with that. We're also working on my explosiveness and that's really improved this year."
The work to get better will never stop, but Thornton is also finding time to take in some schools. He will visit Duke on Feb. 18 for its game with North Carolina and Louisville on Mar. 7 for their game with Virginia. California and Miami are two others that Thornton hopes to visit soon and he's gotten things kicked off with a visit to Kentucky.
Thornton was on campus in Lexington for Tuesday's Wildcat win over Missouri and is still in Lexington so he can get a feel for student life and classes.
"It was overwhelming, it was great," said Thornton of his UK visit. "The staff and all of the players and all of the fans are great. Pretty much everything was great. It was overwhelming but it was fun and I could see myself fitting into this situation."
Thornton had visited Kentucky back in June but this visit gave him a better chance to spend time with the players and coaches.
"I hung out with them(coaches) and the players after the game as well," said Thornton. "We were able to talk and spend some time. We talk about the future and seeing how I could fit in their program and what they do. I talked to the players about how they like the coaches and all of that stuff."
Thornton's father Derryck Sr. says that it is important to get a feel for everything that goes on at a university. That's why he is taking his son for in-season unofficial visits before deciding where to visit officially.
"My thought process is that he is probably going to want to commit early," said Thornton Sr. "So what I'm trying to do is get him to the unofficials and give him an opportunity to see what it's like to go to a game and class. Then when we come back and do officials we won't have to do as many to make a firm decision.
"I don't want him to just visit a school just one time, I want to give him multiple opportunities."
As Thornton moves toward deciding official visits and ultimately making his decision, he is also finding that what he looks at while on campus has started to shift some.
"I feel like coming in you think about basketball but once you get there you take a look at everything else," said Thornton. "You look at the education and then the social life as you get into it. You always think about the basketball but it's not the only thing."
After playing in high school at a program like Findlay Prep where the high school experience is far from traditional, Thornton's father echoes his son's thoughts that the decision can't be solely about basketball
"Of course the education is important," said Thornton Sr. "I have my degree, my wife has a degree and I want all of my kids to have a degree. That's important. The social aspect is important too because he gave that up to go to Findlay Prep.
"So I want to know that wherever he decides to go to college that he knows he's not only going to have a good basketball and educational experience but also have some fun and enjoy the college experience."
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