Two-time captain Bruce Thornton to return to Ohio State for his junior season
Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton will return to Ohio State for his junior season.
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A two-time captain and the team's leader in points, steals and assists, Thornton has grown into a foundational piece of the program during his two seasons at Ohio State. He has missed just one game in the last two years, starting every other one the Buckeyes have played, and averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds in those 70 games.
As a sophomore, Thornton averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 42.7% from the floor, 33.3% from 3 and 85.0% from the free-throw line. He battled an ankle and a thigh injury during Ohio State's three games in the NIT but only missed a home game with Nebraska due to a migraine.
Thornton finished 11th in the Big Ten in scoring, eighth in assists per game, fourth in free-throw shooting percentage and third in assist-to-turnover ratio. In Ohio State's final five games, all of which were in postseason play, Thornton had 40 assists and only five turnovers while averaging 13.6 points per game.
"So excited to have our guy (Thornton) back for another year with Ohio State and THE Foundation," Ohio State's primary men's basketball collective, THE Foundation, wrote in a post to Twitter. "We look forward to our continuing partnership with Bruce over the next year."
He is the second player in as many days to announce his return to Ohio State, joining classmate Felix Okpara.
This story will be updated shortly with more information.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bruce Thornton to return to Ohio State for his junior season
