Four-Star Point Guard Bruce Thornton Committee Ohio State

If he had Bruce Thornton, he would not have told anyone his decision. He had just sent, out of the blue, a four-word tweet that came straight to the point: “Committed to the state of Ohio.”

“Jack (Deebler) was waiting for each other,” said Allan Whitehart, a basketball coach at Thornton, Milton High School.

Whitehart described Thornton as a “simple man,” not “in all hoops.” But when Georgia’s Alfretta high-distance four-point inter-point guard told Deebler about his plans to announce his decision, the Buccaneers’ assistant coach asked him to reconsider. As Whitehart said, they wanted to “make it special for him,” because this is a moment that he has reached out and worked so hard for so long.

Under the direction of Dibbler and Whiteheart, Thornton – the country’s 30th overall recruiter in the 2022 cycle – celebrated it. On the SUVTV live stream on Thursday morning, he announced his commitment to play for the Buccaneers.

ICYMI, Bruce Thornt has shown commitment to Ohio State UniversityBruce 2T_ TheSkillFactory @Milton_Hops Miltonhig coach_agibbs OSUHoopsInsider Liked OhioStateHoops # SUVTV pic.twitter.com/lIpih3WFl7

– SUVTV (@ SUVTV) November 26, 2020

Thornton, the seventh-best defender in his class, joins four-star shooting guard Roddy Gayle and three-star shooting guard Bowen Hardman in head coach Chris Holtman’s 2022 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound main guard selected Ohio State over his other four finalists, including a home-state school where his parents both play college sports (Georgia), a fellow SEC program (Alabama) and a pair. . Of the Big Ten teams (Indiana and Purdue).

With his commitment, Thornton has now teamed up with Malaki Branham and DJ Carton as the Holtman era’s highest rated recruits.

Thornton has not visited the state of Ohio. He came closest in Columbus, Whitehart said, while Milton participated in the Miami-based Flynn to Two Hoop tournament earlier this year.

But a lack of first-person familiarity with the school more than 500 miles away did not stop him from making an early decision. This week, about a year before he will be able to sign the National Letter in the Intent, he vowed to be the point guard of the future state of Ohio.

“It’s based on trust and relationships, and I think Coach (Chris) Holtman and Jack are really attached to it,” Whitehart said. Eleven Warriors. “It simply came to our notice then. With Bruce, the basketball .l hook, but he made me before this comment. He said, ‘Coach, all the high level programs that are hiring me, all their facilities and all they have are the same brick and mortar.’ He said it was coming down to who would run me better and who could connect with me on a personal level. ”

Holtman and Deebler had been working on that front for the past several months without any ability to bring him to campus.

Whitehart says he was originally attached to Debler and began talking to him regularly after Shannon asked Scott – a former Buccaneer, who also went to Milton – if he still had any connections to his college program. For Whiteheart, Thornton would be a perfect Big Ten guard who could fit in as a point guard’s physical “bulldog.”

“More and more they saw, they were like,‘ We got it, ’or‘ He’s our baby. We think we can win the championship with it by running this show. ” Whitehart said.

Thornton received his on-state scholarship offer on June 10. In the months that followed, Holtman and Deebler chased their man as hard as possible. Being the sole recipient of his point guard offer, he received all their attention.

“JK has done an extraordinary job,” Whitehart said. “He has done an extraordinary job in recruiting Bruce. I was just there, you have to make a relationship, man. I said if this kid doesn’t trust you, I don’t care what program you are, you have no chance. So I think Jack just understood that. I claim they talk every day.

Together Holtman and Diebler shut it down. Thornton had no interest in expanding the recruitment process, which made relationship-building the most important aspect. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough with both court sensations and the court’s plan to maximize his talent for being a bookie.

Taking the pledge from Thornton is a huge win for Ohio State, which wants to pair Michi Johnson, who is entering the media with a point guard in the 2022 class. It is a borderline five-star future, whose low-key mindset, physique, brain game and relentless work policy make it right in Columbus.

“If you watch him play, he’s a pit bull,” Whitehart said. “You’ll see him drowning on a 9-9 kid with no expression on his face, or you’ll see him making a play that brings everyone to their feet and doesn’t change the mood.”

As a sophomore for Milton, Thornton earned the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s first-team All-State honor with 23 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He was a Maxpreps Sovereign All-American for the Georgia High School Powerhouse.

Thornton may be allowed to knock on its doors for blue-blood or visit schools next summer. The relationship and court plan in the state of Ohio sold him out, and so had the opportunity to end the recruitment process, for which he was growing reluctant.

“He’s a different kid,” Whitehart said. “He likes, ‘Coach, that’s where I want to go to school.’ I’m like, you know, we’ll give you back what you want. I said, you know, you still have options. It’s been a year before you can sign. It’s like, ‘Coach, I know. That’s where I want to go to school. ‘

On Thursday, he made it an official facial – or through a commitment with the official Hio State, who can still become an officer as a junior in high school.

In a year, he will sign with the bookies as his main guard of the future, and two years later he will join them in court.