Five-star junior Bruce Thornton commits to Ohio State
The rich just keep on getting richer.
Less than two weeks after the Buckeyes landed four-star 2022 wing Roddy Gayle Jr., Ohio State made another big splash on Thanksgiving day by landing five-star junior point guard Bruce Thornton out of Milton (GA).
Thornton, the No.17 player in the 2022 Rivals150 and No.6 overall point guard in the country, chose the Buckeyes over Alabama, Purdue, Georgia and Indiana. Many people expected the junior to stay in the south as his dad played cornerback at Georgia during the 1980’s. He has had one of the more lowkey, quiet recruitments of his class until he announced on Wednesday that he would commit on Thursday.
Thornton is the highest rated prospect and the first five-star that Ohio State has landed under Chris Holtmann, making this a commitment that means a little more than others. Luckily for myself, I was able to see Thornton live last winter at the Premier Health Flyin’ To The Hoop Invitational in Dayton (Ohio) in a tough loss to Pickerington North.
Thornton is a strong, tough guard with all of the tools at 6-foot-2. He can bully smaller guards and sometimes even back them down, is an elite shooter with range that extends far beyond the three-point line and knows how to get his teammates involved in so many different ways. He is an excellent defender, plays with a high IQ and is an all-around fantastic point guard.
With Ohio State graduating CJ Walker and Jimmy Sotos after this season, Thornton is a kid who could very well walk in and start right away in two years, as he has all of tools to challenge Meechie Johnson for his spot, yet will just be two years behind in terms of college experience.
This also shakes things up in terms of the recruiting landscape, as the Buckeyes will likely stop pursuing the trio of in-state 2022 guards they have been recruiting yet haven’t offered, that trio being Sean Jones, Paul McMillan and Sencire Harris.
While they are still searching for a big man in the 2021 class, Ohio State will likely do the same in the 2022 class now as it is not a guarantee they will land one this go around and we also saw Zed Key provide some valuable minutes in the season opener, something that was definitely a bright spot for our interior play going forward.
Shawn Phillips is the biggest 2022 name to keep an eye on at this point, as the Dayton (Ohio) native has been long in contact with Ohio State. In-state forward Josiah Harris is certainly someone to keep tabs on as well, while four-star North Dakota big man Joe Hurlburt has shown lots of interest in Ohio State.
The Buckeyes all of the sudden have one of the better classes in the country for 2022, so a commitment from one of these guys would be sure to push Ohio State into the top spot of the Rivals team ranking if landing Thornton did not already do so.