Duke Freshman PG Derryck Thornton Already Planning on Returning Next Season
By Chris Brown
Most top recruits today are looking to get out of college and start their professional basketball career as soon as possible in the “one-and-done” culture of NCAA Basketball. However, Duke freshman Derryck Thornton recently stated in a great piece on the first-year point guard that after graduating high school a year early to enroll at Duke and join the team, he’s now in no rush to leave.
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The past few seasons, Coach K has added several players that were widely expected to be one-and-done including Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, and this year’s freshman sensation Brandon Ingram. Derryck Thornton was also a highly rated recruit in this year’s top class and came to Duke as one of the top point guard talents and is projected to be the 6th best NBA talent in the ACC for this season. Some experts believe that Thornton is talented enough to join the NBA next season, but the freshman and his family are set on staying more than one year at Duke.
The main reason Thornton says he wants to stay at Duke for as long as possible is to continue to improve his game and learn from Mike Krzyzewski and the rest of the coaching staff. Originally, Thornton had discussed joining the Blue Devils and redshirting his first year to learn from the bench but Tyus Jones’ decision to head to the NBA draft changed that and now the freshman guard will be expected to play a major role in this year’s team as the only true PG on the roster.
#5 Duke breezed through their first two matchups of the regular season against Siena and Bryant as part of the 2K Classic. Thornton struggled in the first games, but has shown flashes of what he’s capable of and is still getting into shape and learning the offense after arriving in Durham later in the summer to fulfill his diploma requirements over the summer.
Next: Takeaways From Duke's Opening Victory vs. Siena
Duke Basketball will have several huge games coming up this week, taking on #2 Kentucky this Tuesday in Chicago before traveling to New York to face VCU in the semifinals of the 2K Classic on Friday and a possible match-up against the winner of Georgetown/#17 Wisconsin in the championship game on Sunday. Be sure to check out Thornton this season as the Blue Devils look to repeat as national champions and come back to Ball Durham for all your Duke news and updates.