Bruce Thornton's performance Saturday against UCLA was a perfect microcosm of his first 1.5 years as a Buckeye so far.
In the first half of Ohio State's win over UCLA, Thornton had just two points while missing all eight of his shot attempts in the first half. Even though he was able to garner four rebounds and three assists, the team's leading scorer early on this season needed to step up in the scoring column.
Playing in front of more than 70 family and friends in Atlanta, given that he is from nearby Alpharetta, Georgia, Thornton stepped up in a major way in the second half, the sort of spark that the Buckeyes needed to earn a win in the CBS Sports Classic. The star point guard scored 11 points and added three rebounds and an assist while making 4-of-7 shots and 3-of-3 free throws to close out the win.
"I live like 15 minutes away, so seeing a bunch of my family and friends, people I grew up with watching me play, I was very excited and very nervous coming out the game," Thornton said after the game. "But I knew at the end of the day, I would get the win for my teammates and Buckeye Nation."
Through 11 games this season, Thornton leads Ohio State in points per game (18.0), assists per game (4.2) and steals per game (1.5) while also adding 2.6 rebounds per game and shooting 44.5% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc in a team-leading 31.8 minutes a night. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder has carried the momentum he gained at the end of last season into his second year in Columbus and has only improved his game along the way, scoring at least 12 points in 10 of the first 11 games of the season, including 24-plus points in four of those contests.
Whether it's using body and toughness to bully smaller guards or his ability to make shots from beyond the arc against a bigger defender, Thornton has certainly made it a priority to both shoot more 3-pointers and to get to the line more often so far this season. After averaging just 3.2 3-point attempts and two free throw attempts per game last season, those numbers have increased to 5.5 and 6.5 in his sophomore season. Thornton has shot at least six 3-pointers in six games this season after doing so just twice all of his freshman campaign. Comparatively, he has shot at least six free throws in six games this year after doing so just twice last season. In fact, Thornton has shot more free throws this season (71) than he did all of his first season as a Buckeye (70), knocking them down at an 85.9% clip, improving on his 72.9% rate from the free-throw line a year ago.
| Year | MPG | PPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 30.6 | 10.6 | 45.6% | 37.5% | 72.9% | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| 2023-24 | 31.8 | 18.0 | 44.5% | 38.3% | 85.9% | 2.6 | 4.3 |
"I thought he'd take a real step," Holtmann said in early December. "He's obviously had a phenomenal start and again, I credit so much to his everyday approach that's allowed him to have a level of consistency that's been really high-level.
“I think his greatest attribute right now is his everyday approach. You know, when you're led by a guy who's coming to practice every day to work, that's who you want to lead your group first and foremost, a guy who does that and cares about the team."
Much like he did in the first half against UCLA, Thornton struggled to find his groove last January, a month in which he averaged just 5.4 points, 2.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting a dismal 27.4% from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range in 27 minutes per game (nine games). He notched double-digit points just once throughout January, a month in which Thornton admitted that he hit a freshman wall.
Even with his struggles, Thornton continued to be one of the Buckeyes' most vocal leaders, so much so that he was named one of the team's captains during the first week of February. Following those month-long struggles, Thornton proved his potential and future stardom as an Ohio State point guard by averaging 13.8 points, 2.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and 35.2% from long distance in 33 minutes per game in OSU's remaining 14 games of the season. He impressed so much so that Chris Holtmann considered him a "foundational piece" for his team at the beginning of March, a statement and label that Thornton seems to have proven to be correct nearly one-third of the way through his sophomore campaign, one in which he seems to improve every game with more experience under his belt.
"I think a better feel, just a more comfort level with things defensively and offensively," Holtmann said of Thornton's improvements in his second season at Ohio State following the Buckeyes' win over Central Michigan on Nov. 29. "Certainly, assertive in terms of as a player and also in terms of leadership. But I had a guy say to me yesterday, it's remarkable how much he's grown in his ball screen reads and his ability to play out ball screens from year one to year two. I think I saw it more, he was getting better at the end of last year but he has really gotten better.
"We knew his shooting was going to be good but now the weapon that he has coming off ball screens is tremendous. I think his reads can continue to grow."
“He's obviously had a phenomenal start and again, I credit so much to his everyday approach that's allowed him to have a level of consistency that's been really high-level.”– Chris Holtmann on Bruce Thornton
At the end of last season and so far this season, Ohio State's offense will go as far as Thornton will take it. With the sophomore stepping up in a major way since last January, it has led to plenty of positive things for the Buckeyes, including a 9-2 start to the season following the win over the Bruins last weekend. If Thornton continues to impress even while fighting through some struggles at times in terms of finding his shot, it could lead to Ohio State having its best season in recent years under Holtmann.
Being able to lean on a player and leader like Thornton is an important building block as Ohio State gets set to begin the Big Ten gauntlet of its schedule and looks to fend off its January, February and March struggles of years past.
