Bruce Thornton’s ability to score in multiple ways carried him to the top of the Ohio State scoring charts. He surpassed Dennis Hopson with a 3-pointer late in the first half. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
To become an an all-time great at Ohio State, Bruce Thornton stayed the course, caring about his team more than personal goals and accolades.
Columbus, OH – Bruce Thornton enjoys discussing the importance of details, the so-called little things required to be a winner.
Call it his innate and learned basketball IQ of minding his personal Ps and Qs.
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After a February 11 victory over USC – a day he was at his all-time-Buckeye-great best – Thornton talked about how he approached a game the Buckeyes badly needed to win in their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament berth.
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“Showing up at work each and every day – that’s any and everything that you got to do in life,” he said in his soft-spoken voice. “Stuff just don’t come handed to you. Keep doing the small details.”
For Thornton, his Ps and Qs are points, persistence, quantity and quality.
The points and quantity represent what Thornton did Saturday when he became Ohio State’s career scoring leader in the first half against Indiana, leading the Buckeyes to a 50-33 lead with 12 points and six assists. He surprassed Dennis Hopson’s record of 2,096.
Thornton’s final 12 points to the record began with a steal of an inbounds pass and an easy lauyup. Midway through the first half he swished a 3-pointer. Six minutes later he made the kind of shot he always makes: off two feet in the paint, fading to his left. Then, in the space of 28 seconds, needing five points, he got them.
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First came a drive down the left side and a leaning-in finish with his right hand. He set the record with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 43 seconds left, and the sellout crowd of 18,809 erupted.
The half played out. A minute after leaving the floor, Thornton and head coach Jake Diebler returned to halfcourt. Hopson presented Thornton with a game ball and the crowd roared and chanted “BRUUUUCE.” Then Thornton ran to the locker room. For him, there were more important things. There was a game to win.
Head coach Jake Diebler says Bruce Thornton is an “every rep guy.”
And the Buckeyes won 91-78. Thornton led them with 25 points, seven assists and no turnovers.
Thornton’s record and counting: 2,110.
His measurable Ps and Qs, the reason for Saturday’s celebration, wouldn’t have materialized without the other Ps and Qs. Bruce Thornton’s intangible contributions to the Ohio State basketball program as it’s only four-time captain are his persistence and quality. Without them, he wouldn’t have been celebrated Saturday as a senior, been a bobblehead giveaway or become a record holder.
Diebler, says Thornton is not an every day guy or an every game guy or an every minute guy. “He’s an every rep guy.”
That trait allows Thornton to play at his best when his team needs it most. In December on a neutral court in Cleveland, Thornton played the role of hero-to-the-rescue. He made the winning shot with 3.3 seconds left to defeat West Virginia 89-88 in double overtime.
“All he cares about is winning,” Diebler said after the game. “He just wants to do whatever it takes to win. He truly is one of the absolute special players in college basketball, and he showed why tonight.”
Thornton’s desire to win and play in the NCAA Tournament didn’t cause him to run out on Ohio State. Through the firing of head coach Chris Holtmann during his sophomore season, through the disappointing January losing streaks, through slipping off the NCAA bubble last year, no one would have blamed Thornton if he had transferred.
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But he didn’t, and he’s never missed a start. Thornton wanted to accomplish winning and being a part of March Madness as a Buckeye.
“I’ve just always been a loyal guy,” he said this past summer. “Me being here is just sticking it out and just showing love back to Ohio State because they’ve been nothing but great to me.”
That loyalty, it seems heading into the Big Ten tournament, will be rewarded by the NCAA committee on Selection Sunday.
Bruce Thornton scored 22 points to help Jake Diebler win his debut as interim head coach over No. 2 Purdue and two-time national player of the year Zach Edey.
Thornton saved some of his best performances for Purdue. His winning plays in those games helped Diebler earn three of his most important victories.
Thornton delivered in Diebler’s debut as interim head coach on February 18, 2024. He scored 14 of 22 points in the first half, and the Buckeyes stunned No. 2 Purdue and two-time national player of the year Zach Edey, 73-69.
“My hardest, my weirdest, most dramatic time of being a college basketball player happened this week,” Thornton said after the game. “But it doesn’t matter who we play, we’re going to show them how to play Ohio State basketball.”
Last season at Mackey Arena, Thornton and the Buckeyes upset Purdue again 73-70. He scored 11 points and made five assists, all in the second half. His final one led to a Devin Royal dunk with 4:23 left and gave the Buckeyes the lead for good.
This past Sunday, Thornton scored 20 points in an 82-74 victory over No. 2 Purdue. He did it with three physical layups through traffic, three 3-pointers and at the free-throw line.
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After the game, I asked Purdue coach Matt Painter about Thornton. After a third straight loss to Ohio State, no opposing head coach in the Big Ten could appreciate Thornton more.
“A lot of young people aren’t professional,” he said. “He’s professional.”
Painter recruited Thornton and visited him a few times in Georgia. He talked to Thornton’s coaches at Milton High School and was convinced he wanted Thornton to be a Boilermaker.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter recruited Bruce Thornton and wishes he had gotten Thornton. “He’s about winning. He’s about being a good teammate. Dudes like that are gold,” Painter said.
“I know his high school coaches, and that’s all they kept saying – this kid’s the biggest winner,” Painter said. “This kid’s all about his team. He’s all about Milton. Now, he’s all about Ohio State. He just wants to win. Good for him.”
Painter’s goal, just like Diebler’s, is to recruit people like Thornton. He wants players who prize winning and playing in the NCAA Tournament over individual accolades and records.
“We have good guys in our program – I know every coach says that, but they’re not all right,” Painter said. “When we vetted Bruce Thornton, it was just like, man, he’s all about the right things. He’s all about winning. He’s not about himself. He’s not about the fluff, he’s not about the attention-seeking behavior. He’s about winning. He’s about being a good teammate. Dudes like that are gold.”
Another gold-standard dude was courtside Sunday calling the game for CBS: former Purdue All-American Robbie Hummel.
“I call them multipliers,” Painter said. “The guy that called the game today for CBS is a multiplier. Robbie Hummel never bitched about things one time. He just wanted to win. He wanted to know why other people didn’t hurt like he hurt when we lost. ‘Why don’t they?’”
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Painter’s response to Hummel: “Well, because they’re not quite wired like you.”
“You can’t get enough of that,” Painter continued, “because those dudes make everybody better. The best teams are driven by the Robbie Hummels and Bruce Thorntons of the world.”
Thornton’s move up the scoring chart this season has brought Ohio State greats to mind like Kelvin Ransey, William Buford, Jerry Lucas, Herb Williams and now Hopson.
Bruce Thornton made an early impression as a freshman with his play at the Maui Classic.
He’s in the same company as other Big Ten greats who own their school records: Michigan’s Glen Rice, Purdue’s Edey, Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney, Illinois’ Deon Thomas, Iowa’s Luka Garza.
We saw this day coming for Thornton, even though we didn’t realize it then, at the start of his freshman season. After an exhibition, Bruce Hooley wrote: Thornton is a keeper and will get better as the Big Ten teaches him some hard lessons. Then at the Maui Classic he scored 13 points in a loss, 17 in a win over Cincinnati and 17 again in a win over No. 21 Texas Tech. The Buckeyes clearly had a two-way player and a leader.
“We have a really composed freshman at the point,” Holtmann said. “It’s hard to speed him up. He doesn’t make irrational, crazy decisions with the ball. He makes really smart decisions. He’s really strong with it. He’s exceptionally poised. He put another great effort in today. It begins with him.”
Thornton’s offense continued to grow as a sophomore, and it was evident early in the season. He scored 24 points – a career high at the time – and the unranked Buckeyes beat No. 15 Texas A&M at home.
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“I think 2 [Thornton] is hard to guard – like really hard to guard,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said.
That was the last time a coach didn’t know Thornton’s name and called him by his number. From that day forward, and maybe sooner, No. 2 became priority No. 1 on every opponent’s scouting report.
Thornton’s steady play is an expectation. He will pass to an open teammate. He will defend. He’s become a good 3-point shooter. And when he probes the defense, you know he will use his running-back stature to get where he wants to go.
Bruce Thornton proved to Jake Diebler two years ago against Michigan that he could dunk in a game.
Sometimes Thornton’s destination is all the way to the rim like a ballcarrier running toward daylight. Sometimes it’s to a spot in the paint somewhere between eight and 15 feet where he will elevate under control off two feet and score over a helpless defender.
But there was a day against Michigan on March 3, 2024, when the dependable, often predictable Thornton surprised everyone in the Schottenstein Center, especially his coach.
He dunked.
“Since I’ve known him, he’s always told me how he could dunk,” Diebler said. “I’ve just said I’ve never really seen it in a game. That was impressive. I’m sure I will forever hear about that.”
Bruce Thornton, the Buckeye who stayed when others would have gone away, the Buckeye who puts every ounce of his 215 pounds into winning, the Buckeye who just might lead the program back to some March success, is here to stay in Ohio State lore.
And those who saw him play will make sure the next generation hears the name Bruce Thornton.
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