During the fall of 2020, Bruce Thornton was a junior at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia, balancing his education and basketball during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jake Diebler was an assistant coach at Ohio State under Chris Holtmann, with a clear focus on recruiting: Get Thornton to commit to the Buckeyes.
“He would call me so much during that time,” Thornton recalled of Diebler. “He would FaceTime me. He wasn’t regular calling like other coaches. So I’m like, I don’t know why he’s doing this. He would call me so much, I thought he was the head coach during that time. But it’s crazy how everything comes full circle. But yeah, a lot of FaceTimes.”
Diebler recalls it similarly. While he also mentioned there were plenty of FaceTime calls, there wasn’t as much face time with Thornton.
“I think of all the times I FaceTimed him and he was playing video games,” said Diebler, now Ohio State’s head coach. “And I was staring at his ceiling during the recruiting process.”
Although Diebler might not have seen much of Thornton during those calls, they still made an impact and eventually resulted in the two spending a lot of time together in Columbus.
A four-star prospect and top-10 point guard in his class, Thornton committed to the Scarlet and Gray on Nov. 26, 2020. In hindsight, that commitment and Thornton’s signing a year later set in motion what could be a historic Saturday.
After scoring 18 points in Ohio State’s 94-62 win at Penn State on Wednesday, Thornton has the opportunity to pass Dennis Hopson and become the Buckeyes’ all-time leading scorer during this weekend’s regular season finale at home against Indiana.
Although Diebler knew Thornton was a talented player and did what it took to ensure he played for the Scarlet and Gray, he admits he didn’t expect this level of production when the point guard arrived on campus.
With nine more rebounds, he will be the second player in Big Ten history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in his career. Thornton didn’t expect to move up the record books in this way either.
“I never thought this would ever be a thing,” Thornton said when asked about the marks he is on the cusp of setting. “If you told me my freshman year, I would do something like, ‘Okay, get out of my face. It’s probably not going to happen.’ But God works in mysterious ways, man, and definitely a blessing.”
Thornton’s assault on Ohio State’s all-time scoring record is, of course, due to his decision to stay in college for four seasons instead of leaving early for the NBA Draft, as top players often do. However, it also reflects Thornton’s loyalty.
The guard played through the start of the transfer portal and NIL era, which created opportunities to transfer each offseason. Teams with deeper pockets than Buckeye basketball would have loved to pay Thornton to join their school and lead the team.
Yet Thornton remained committed to the Scarlet and Gray.
“For me, something my mom always told me, if you’re gonna start something, you gotta finish it,” Thornton explained. “It’s really different now with NIL and coaching changes, but I just stood true to who I am. (Diebler) believed in me at a very high level. So, when somebody instills that much confidence in you, it’s just hard to waver. Because I don’t feel like that was fake or it was false. I feel like it was real genuine and I’m still here.”
Diebler believes Thornton’s career deserves even more recognition than it already has. A player like Thornton, who spends four years playing college basketball at one school, is becoming increasingly rare. Many opposing coaches have praised Thornton’s loyalty — among other qualities — after facing Ohio State this season, acknowledging the same traits that Diebler observes.
“We all want players like that,” Diebler said. “And I think that’s great. I’m not surprised that these guys celebrate him. Certainly, because he’s a talented player and they have great respect for him. But they’ve watched him grow. They’ve got a feel for who he is as a person, too. And I think all that stuff should be celebrated.”
Thornton’s career is an example of hard work and improvement.
He was a starting player on Day 1 and played in every game for the Buckeyes during the 2022-23 season. Thornton averaged 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a freshman.
Each season, Thornton has improved, averaging 19.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a senior this year. He challenges opposing offenses with his point-of-attack defense. He is dependable, having missed only one game in his career due to a migraine. He is also the only four-time captain in Ohio State basketball history.
“He’s also gotten better as a player,” Diebler said. “He was a really good player coming in, but he’s leaving as a great player.”
The only thing missing from Thornton’s impressive college résumé is an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Buckeyes’ last trip to the Big Dance was the year before Thornton arrived on campus. The Scarlet and Gray have come close, making a deep Big Ten run during Thornton’s freshman season and likely falling one win short of an at-large bid last year, but they haven’t played on the biggest stage.
Despite inconsistencies in Big Ten play this season, Ohio State has worked its way to the inside of the tournament bubble after upsetting No. 8 Purdue on Sunday and defeating the Nittany Lions on Wednesday. The Buckeyes now have two Quad 1 wins and no bad losses, with a victory over Indiana likely enough to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“I think you can look as far as the metrics that seem to be indicators or what the committee values when they make these decisions and you look at our NET and our WAB,” Diebler said when asked why he believes the Scarlet and Gray should be in the tournament field. “… We have to look at those two numbers and look at the teams that we are better than in those two numbers. And I think that that speaks to what we’ve accomplished this year.”
Heading into the weekend, Ohio State ranks No. 32 in the NET and No. 39 in the WAB.
For Thornton, making the NCAA Tournament would be the cherry on top of a historic career.
“It’d mean a lot,” Thornton said. “I remember me and my brothers and my mom filling out our bracket, seeing who’s going to win. So it’d definitely be a dream. I worked so hard all these four years, and it’s right there. So I’m not going to put no more pressure on myself. I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. I feel like it’s been working out a little bit. Holding guys to a high level, I feel like we can take care of business.”
Even with the Big Ten Tournament approaching, Saturday’s game is crucial for Ohio State to stay on the right side of the bubble. Indiana is another team fighting for its NCAA Tournament hopes, and a loss could cause the Buckeyes to fall out of the field.
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Winning against the Hoosiers will be Thornton’s main focus, but he’ll have a busy day on Saturday. Not only is it senior day, where Thornton will be honored with his classmates, but it’s also the Bruce Thornton Bobblehead Game at the Schottenstein Center.
Add that Thornton will become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer with his 12th point against IU – he’s only scored fewer than 12 points four times this season – and it’s a lot for the player to handle.
Fortunately, Thornton is a veteran. He will stick to his routine and go about his business, looking to help his team on a special day.
“It’ll be a lot,” Thornton said. “Probably grandma, mama gonna be crying. Friends, family coming to town. It’s gonna definitely be a special moment tomorrow, being my last home game at the Schott. But at the end of the day, I’m trying to get that win.”