COLLEGE

Thornton played college basketball at Kilgore College, As a freshman he averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 65 percent from the field in the 2005-06 junior college season before erupting for 26.9 points per game in 2006-07, earning first-team NJCAA All-American honors, Region XIV MVP recognition, and the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association Classic MVP award after scoring 19 points for the Texas All-Stars against the National All-Stars.

He completed two seasons at Kilgore College and graduated in the summer of 2007 before transferring to Louisiana State University.

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At LSU he wore No. 5, played guard, and joined the Tigers for the 2007-08 season as a junior on a team that finished 13-18 overall and 6-10 in the SEC, placing fourth in the SEC West while changing coaches during the year from John Brady to interim head coach Butch Pierre.

In 2007-08 he played 31 games and made 30 starts, averaging 33.6 minutes, 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.2 turnovers per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from three, and 81.7 percent at the free throw line.

His 2007-08 season totals were 1,043 minutes, 608 points, 174 rebounds, 42 assists, 43 steals, 10 blocks, 68 turnovers, 62 personal fouls, 212 field goals made on 486 attempts, 90 three-pointers on 239 attempts, and 94 free throws on 115 attempts.

Thornton ranked second in the SEC in scoring in 2007-08, ranked third in the league in free throw percentage, and led SEC play in scoring at 21.6 points per game.

His junior season included 27 games in double figures, 17 games of 20 points or more, four double-doubles, and 13 games without a missed free throw.

He opened his LSU career with 27 points against Southeastern Louisiana, scored 24 against Nicholls State, hit a tying three to force overtime against Arizona State at the Maui Invitational while finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds, posted 15 points and 13 rebounds at Villanova, and added 12 points and 11 rebounds at Wichita State.

Thornton produced one of the signature games of LSU’s season on January 30, 2008 when he scored 38 points at Auburn, hit eight three-pointers, and buried the game-winning three with 3.8 seconds left in an 81-80 win that gave LSU its first SEC victory of the season.

He matched that 38-point high in the regular-season finale at Mississippi State with 13 field goals and six three-pointers, and he also scored 36 points with 10 rebounds against Georgia on March 2, 2008.

His 90 made threes in 2007-08 were the second-most in an LSU season at the time, and his only non-start of his LSU career came at Arkansas on February 20, 2008 when he played four minutes because of a hip flexor issue.

LSU did not reach the NCAA Tournament or NIT that season and closed the year with a 77-73 loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament.

Thornton returned in 2008-09 for his senior season under first-year head coach Trent Johnson and helped LSU surge to a 27-8 overall record and a 13-3 SEC mark, good for first in the SEC West, the SEC regular-season championship, a final No. 21 AP ranking, and an NCAA Tournament berth.

In 2008-09 he played 35 games and started 34, averaging 32.0 minutes, 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 1.8 turnovers per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three, and 74.5 percent at the foul line.

His senior season totals were 1,120 minutes, 739 points, 192 rebounds, 75 assists, 56 steals, 13 blocks, 64 turnovers, 72 personal fouls, 256 field goals made on 542 attempts, 78 three-pointers on 201 attempts, and 149 free throws on 200 attempts.

Thornton was the consensus SEC Player of the Year in 2008-09, made first-team All-SEC, was the USBWA District VII Player of the Year, earned NABC first-team all-district honours, made the Wooden Award national ballot, was named Louisiana Player of the Year, and finished the season as the first LSU player since Ronnie Henderson in 1996 to average more than 20 points per game.

He scored in double figures in his final 19 games of the season and finished his LSU career with 37 games of 20 points or more, 10 games of 30 points or more, and six double-doubles.

His best senior performances included 32 points against Troy, 24 against Cal State Fullerton, 31 against Mississippi State on January 21, 2009, 30 against Xavier on January 24, 2009, 23 at Kentucky on February 28 after scoring 19 in the second half of the comeback that secured the outright SEC title, 32 against Florida on February 24, and 25 against Auburn in the win that clinched the SEC West top seed.

In the NCAA Tournament he scored 30 points with four assists and three steals in LSU’s 75-71 first-round win over Butler, then had 25 points with five three-pointers in the second-round loss to North Carolina.

LSU’s SEC Tournament run ended in the semifinals with a 67-57 loss to Mississippi State, but Thornton still finished the year with the eighth-highest single-season point total in school history and the seventh-most made three-pointers in a season.

His Sports Reference LSU record shows two Division I seasons, with 2007-08 at 31 games, 30 starts, 33.6 minutes, 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game on 43.6 percent shooting, 37.7 percent from three, and 81.7 percent at the line for a 13-18 team, followed by 2008-09 at 35 games, 34 starts, 32.0 minutes, 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 47.2 percent shooting, 38.8 percent from three, and 74.5 percent at the line for a 27-8 team.

His LSU Division I career totals were 66 games, 64 starts, 2,163 minutes, 1,347 points, 366 rebounds, 117 assists, 99 steals, 23 blocks, and 132 turnovers while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from three, and 77.1 percent from the free throw line, which translated to career averages of 32.8 minutes, 20.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.

Thornton finished his LSU career ranked 21st in school history in scoring with 1,347 points, sixth in career scoring average at 20.4 points per game, and eighth in career three-pointers made with 168, while his 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons established him as one of the most productive two-year scorers in program history.