By Todd Bradley, DCSportsFan.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
On December 2, 2006, 14-year-old Tyler Thornton came off the bench in his first game as a member of Gonzaga’s varsity basketball team. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound freshman scored 10 points in that game as the Eagles cruised to a 65-44 victory against St. Albans to open the 2006-07 season.
Nearly two years, 54 victories and one city title later, Thornton has verbally committed to play basketball at Duke University, which is considered one of, if not the most, prestigious college basketball program in the country.
"I told Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) that I was ready to come," Thornton said about his visit to Duke last weekend. "I went down with no intentions to commit. It just happened. I went down there Saturday morning and had lunch with the players and families, and Coach K was just himself. He told me to make a decision that I won't regret."
Home to 200 consecutive AP Top 25 appearances, 55 All-Americans, 16 ACC titles, 14 Final Four appearances, 11 National Players of the Year, seven No. 1 finishes and three NCAA championships, Duke basketball has become a staple in living rooms across the country, which made Thornton's decision a no-brainer.
Players such as Johnny Dawkins, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Elton Brand and Grant Hill are just fives of 71 names that have gone from Durham, North Carolina, to the NBA. Over the past 27 years, the program has been led by Krzyzewski, who has totaled 724 victories and all three national championships for Duke.
And if Thorton needed one more reason to verbally commit to Duke, Krzyzewski is just weeks removed from leading the "Redeem Team" to Olympic Gold in Beijing.
"I'm excited for him and his future," Gonzaga coach Steve Turner said. "Tyler has the opportunity to play early. And I guarantee you this: he'll find a way to get on the floor."
At Gonzaga, Thornton made his impact early. He emerged as a freshman on a team that went 20-9 and finished third in the ultra-competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). Thornton began starting halfway through his freshman season, and the Eagles advanced to the WCAC semifinals, where they lost to Chris Wright and the St. John's Cadets.
Thorton, however, picked up valuable experience.
This past season, he started every game and had numerous schools courting him as the Eagles finished 34-1, defeated Bishop O'Connell in the WCAC Finals and Theodore Roosevelt in the City Title as Gonzaga had its best season in school history. Stanford, Georgetown, Villanova, Duke and Virginia all offered scholarships, but Thornton decided to end the recruiting process early and attend Duke, which, according to Turner, created a frenzy through the college basketball world.
"Every news publication found a way to get through to my cell phone," Turner said, "but it shows the type of kids we bring through Gonzaga."
Turner linked Thornton to former Gonzaga basketball greats like Tom Sluby (Notre Dame), Mark Tillman (Georgetown) and Robert Churchwell (Georgetown), but he compared him to former Duke great Bobby Hurley.
"Everyone considers a star someone who scores 20 to 30 points per night," Turner said. "Tyler puts aside his scoring ability and keeps everyone involved. They recruited him to be a Coach K from the floor. They believe he can score but that's not why they wanted him."
It's hard to believe Thornton has two more years at Gonzaga before he leaves Eye Street for life on Tobacco Road, but November 8 officially begins the 2008-09 season as Gonzaga looks to defend its various titles from last year. And with Thornton closing the door on the recruiting process, you can bet he'll be focused when the season begins.
"The recruiting process was never a hassle," Thornton said, "but I'm relieved that it's over."
Todd Bradley is the Editor-in-Chief of www.dcsportsfan.com, which covers high school athletics in the Washington, D.C. area. E-mail Todd at editor@dcsportsfan.com.