2019- Derryck Thornton Grad Transfer

[scrooner]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26717141/sources-thornton-leave-usc-grad-transfer

He came out of high school as 247Sports' #3 PG and #14 overall player: https://247sports.com/Player/Derryck...-school-51550/

Stats aren't exactly eye-popping: https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb...hornton-1.html

[scrooner]

[Therunner]

Career 38% FG shooter.

[ZagBlue]

So he is a worse Geno Crandall. Again, not interested...at all.

I would take Thornton in a heartbeat. You have to compare him to the alternative which right now we are totally unsure of. We do not know if the chances with Nix are reasonable and our only other option is a freshman pg. There is no harm in taking a former high school all american grad transfer who started for Duke and USC. He does not take a scholarship from a future recruit which is why grad transfers add so much value. They are basically a free agent on a one year deal to help plug a hole. Look, we need depth in the back court and there are not many available that can provide that solid depth currently. So, I would gladly take a free agent pg who frees up scholarships for 2020, and who also by the way was an All American in high school and has played against great competition in college. I'm not sure what better we could expect and hope for as a grad pg.

[Gonzagit]

I would take Thornton in a heartbeat. You have to compare him to the alternative which right now we are totally unsure of. We do not know if the chances with Nix are reasonable and our only other option is a freshman pg. There is no harm in taking a former high school all american grad transfer who started for Duke and USC. He does not take a scholarship from a future recruit which is why grad transfers add so much value. They are basically a free agent on a one year deal to help plug a hole. Look, we need depth in the back court and there are not many available that can provide that solid depth currently. So, I would gladly take a free agent pg who frees up scholarships for 2020, and who also by the way was an All American in high school and has played against great competition in college. I'm not sure what better we could expect and hope for as a grad pg.

HARD PASS

[Markburn1]

Not sure the Zags have the resources available for this kid. Tony Bland doesn't work in Spokane.

[ZagBlue]

HARD PASS

I totally get the thought of "hard pass." Again though, I would much prefer Thornton over an empty roster spot as he does not impact ability to sign kids in 2020 and we need depth. Any empty roster spot does not provide depth. If Ravet is better, then Thornton won't play much. We basically get a free year at a position of need from a kid who has started in the ACC and PAC12 (regardless of how we feel he performed). He seems like a good kid as I have never heard negative things about him. If he is the add, I'm good with it.

[zagfan1970]

Has the kid expressed ANY interest in Gonzaga?

[former1dog]

The harm is that he stinks. You’re enamored with the name on the back of the jersey instead of the talent, or lack there of inside of it. If it was just “Tyrone Jones” who was putting up those numbers not a former five star Duke commit you wouldn’t even think twice about this kid. He’s done absolutely nothing in his college career two warrant playing for us.

You've made your point, which is a fair one IMHO... No reason to continue to make it.

Also, not in love with "he stinks." True or not, its just not cool.

[ZagBlue]

The harm is that he stinks. You’re enamored with the name on the back of the jersey instead of the talent, or lack there of inside of it. If it was just “Tyrone Jones” who was putting up those numbers not a former five star Duke commit you wouldn’t even think twice about this kid. He’s done absolutely nothing in his college career two warrant playing for us.

Actually I’m not enamored with the name on the back of the jersey as I have the same concerns you do. My bigger concern though is that this team has no pg with any experience, period. Thornton is assuredly better than a walk on and right now said walk on is probably getting playing time. Bottom line is I trust our staff, they have earned that. If Thornton becomes the guy, it is a clear indicator to me that Nix wasn’t a viable option and therefore Thornton is the choice.
You guys saw what Geno Crandall did here (not very much). That is the danger in taking stats against terrible competition and trying to translate it against NCAA tourney caliber teams. Thornton has played great competition and in our league he has a chance to perform much better. For Crandall it was a step up, for Thornton not so much.
I will be totally honest, I only saw Thornton play 1 game this year. It was against Vanderbilt who happened to have a lottery pick at pg. Thornton actually played very well in that one. Again, I’m not saying he is a savior and I’m far from enamored BUT he is far better than en empty roster spot which literally might be the alternative.
As a fan, if he is the guy, I hope he is terrific. Again, I think it is so important to always consider the alternative and clearly there are not many. Im also an optimist... what if he doesn’t stink?

[scrooner]

And, even though Geno didn't quite live up to expectations, we would have had a weaker team without him.

[GUZag08]

Wow so many experts on here. Surprised they haven’t been hired by the staff

[Zagceo]

Wow so many experts on here. Surprised they haven’t been hired by the staff

just opinions

and yea I agree with former....Spy

[tyra]

I am surprised at all the hate being heaped on Geno. I think some are fixated on how he lit us up last year and were expecting something more along those lines. Frankly after he got past the injury, I looked forward to him coming in for his defense. And I’m glad we had him. Just my opinion.

[zagfan1970]

I say if you were to take the name off(like they do in March Madness with the blind resume) and just look at true potential- seeing a run of 3 games 16/6,13/12,13/9 vs D1 competition you'd have a hard time finding a PG who had 12 assists in a game this year that is on the market.