How interesting would THAT be? Thornton came to Duke early in hopes of saving our season as a freshman. Coming back as a grad transfer in hopes of saving our season next year would be something else for sure. He's certainly having a good year as a redshirt junior PG. And he'd certainly be familiar with the Duke way of life.
That said, it'd seem pretty unlikely to me from both sides. But oh what an opportunity for redemption!
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Agreed. Although honestly, if he is interested in a grad transfer, I don't think it's a bad idea. He's older now, and is playing well for USC this year. And assuming we don't catch an amazing break in getting a second year of Tre Jones, he's probably as good or better than any option we'd have available on the grad transfer market, not even considering the fact that he's already familiar with life in the Duke bball program. And he'd likely be better than any realistic options on the reclass market too.
There are, of course, some speed bumps. Namely, would he be interested in doing it, and would Coach K be interested in bringing him back. But if we clear both of those hurdles, it makes some sense.
Someone who posts here has a very believable tale about how Thornton did not want to leave, evidently it was dad's decision. So who knows?
I think there would have to be some very clear understanding about the family's role moving forward.
I also suspect that some of that is moot given how the last 3 years have gone for Thornton. I don't know that they are in the position to be so pushy given that he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire since leaving. Maybe their expectations have recalibrated accordingly.
Regardless, there would certainly have to be some clarification about the way things ended before and making sure that doesn't happen again.
Still, from a PG's perspective, getting to pass to Vernon Carey seems like a really nice opportunity.
Walker Kessler, a 2020 5* C recruit with an offer from Duke, has been rumored as potentially reclassifying to 2019.
For the record, at first I thought English was joking about Thornton returning. After reading further up, I realized what he was referring to. I added the info on Thornton's stats as an interesting FYI (in short, that 3 years later he is just now beginning to exceed what he was able to do at Duke as a Freshman). I feel for the kid, because it would be difficult seeing the success Duke has had, vis a vis that of USC, knowing he could have been a part of it had he not left.
I wish him well. He did attend the banquet, which showed a great deal of maturity under what must have been uncomfortable circumstances. I would not be at all surprised if Derryck was pleased with his freshman season and did not want to leave Duke and miss the opportunity to lead one of the nation's top teams. And although you can't hold him responsible for his "uncle's" actions, it would be very difficult to imagine anyone at Duke wanting to deal with the people around him. And even if that very improbable event happened, it would also require Thornton's family to basically admit that they were wrong - which would seem to be next to impossible.
ESPN updated its Top 100 list for the Class of 2019 and there was some notable movement for Duke fans.
3 - Vernon Carey, Jr.
19 - Wendell Moore
39 - Rejean "Boogie" Ellis
Matthew Hurt is listed at 10th. I believe Carey fell a spot or two while Moore and Ellis both moved up about 5-10 spots each. It seems like Carey and Moore are almost certainly locks to make the McDonald's All-American game while Boogie is a borderline candidate.
And I certainly don't think it is remotely likely that Thornton returns to Duke. It would be a longshot at best, and would require a series of things happening ranging from highly likely (e.g., us not having Tre Jones next year) to unclear (if either party would be interested AND if we didn't have other options) to potentially very unlikely (the family being okay with it). That said, Thornton will be a 22 year old by that point. He could certainly decide that his "uncle" doesn't need to play a role in his future anymore.
Again, I certainly wouldn't expect Thornton to be at Duke next year. And resolving the family situation would be key in the decision in the unlikely event that his return was a possibility. Just saying that - given how things have played out - it could well be that Thornton decides to not be led around by his family in deciding upon his last chance to make a collegiate splash.
If Duke is also interested in adding a frontcourt player, I assume that Chase Jeter would be eligible for a grad transfer!!!
I agree with you that there is essentially zero chance of Derryck or Chase transferring back to Duke, but it does bring up an interesting point (interesting to me, at least). The NCAA's grad transfer rule pretty much means that any player who has already transferred once (and sat out a year) should be eligible to transfer a second time for his final season, assuming he stayed on track to graduate in 4 years.
So, I wonder if there has ever been a player who transferred away from a school after his freshman or sophomore year and ended up transferring back as a grad transfer? I suspect the answer is no, but I wouldn't be entirely shocked if it happens at some point.
It would be a fascinating story line, but his advanced stats paint a pretty ugly picture. Offensive rating below 100. Turnover rate at 22%. And this against the PAC12. I'm honestly not even sure he'd start if he put up those numbers at Duke next season, even given the dearth of other options.
Who needs a moral victory when you can have a real one?
He seems to be a sought after grad transfer PG. Played for Santa Clara, so not exactly high major. Only 5'11" and wasn't a big time name in high school. Broke his thumb early this year. Arizona, Cincinnati, Nevada, Iowa State , Oregon and USC among the suitors (some heavy hitters). Last year he averaged 17.5 ppg, .372 from 3, 4 assists, 2.3 TOs per game. Playing for a bad team, coached by Herb Sendek. Just tossing the name out there. Probably not what you're looking for but he's about the best transfer available to play immediately as of now, but more guys announce later.
I thought Ellis would make a huge leap based on things I've read.