Derryck Thornton

[Crank_it_loud]

It seems like most of the guys have received a lot of love here lately, specifically on the passive-aggressive trolls "Impact" threads, but I wanted to send some props to this guy, DT. He is already becoming one of my favorite Duke players and he hasn't even played a single minute in a Duke uni yet. He'll start from day 1, and I really think he'll have a great season, breaking many ankles along the way, and getting plenty of open looks for both the wings on kickout 3's and the bigs in the paint. Psyched to have this guy at PG this year!!

 

[The Right Blue]

As long as he plays under control, he'll be fine. I don't expect him to have Tyus-level poise, but if he stays under control, he'll be a great floor general for this team.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Looking forward to seeing DT break some ankles, especially some Tar Heel ones. He's going to be an exciting player for us.

Here are a couple of pics I made when he first committed...first 'sighting' in a Duke uni, and his 'ankle breaking' trophy case. Bonus points for the ones that can read some of the awards I inscribed.

OFC

 

[HuffyJB]

He very well could be the key to everything. He will man the one position that really has no depth.

 

[K-oach Q]

I'm really excited to see this guy play. I don't keep up with recruiting much but I thought I read he was also a pretty elite defender. That is what excites me the most, is the ability to stop opposing PG from penetrating.

His handle looks pretty sick in that video!

 

[JCColsCane]

Good post. I also think DT is going to be an exciting player for Duke and will ease the loss of Tyus. We will all have to be careful and not use too many comparisons (if any), he is DT, not Tyus Jones.
I can't wait to watch his improvement as the season progresses, and I think he will do just fine for a Freshman. He will make his mistakes, from being aggressive and the competition he will be stepping up too, but I have no doubt, he will give Duke far more joy than heartache.
Get ready for a lot of excitement this year, my money says you will all love this kid!!!
Go Duke!!


JC-OFC

 

[crazyduke3]

He will be very very important this season. I'm excited about his defense I can't wait to see what he brings. I wanted this kid bad

 

[gottagonow]

I don't know if his accomplishments will match that of Tyus Jones but Derryck Thornton has what looks like greater speed and certainly better athleticism. Here's to hoping his accomplishment are equal or better than Tyus.

OFC

 

[smooth as butter]

Duke won't miss a beat at the pg he is the real deal.

 

[Crank_it_loud]

Duke won't miss a beat at the pg he is the real deal.

As real as your boy "Butters" Marshall?

 

[dukiejay]

It's hard to say Duke won't miss a beat without Tyus. And that's not a knock on Derryck. But Tyus was pretty damn special. Considering he was a freshman just makes what he did all that more impressive. Tyus kind of had a switch, and mentally he's one of the toughest PG's Duke has ever had. That's saying something.

I also hope comparisons of Thornton to Jones are few and far between. Derryck is his own kind of special player and we're all going to love him.

 

[aah555]

It's hard to say Duke won't miss a beat without Tyus. And that's not a knock on Derryck. But Tyus was pretty damn special. Considering he was a freshman just makes what he did all that more impressive. Tyus kind of had a switch, and mentally he's one of the toughest PG's Duke has ever had. That's saying something.

I also hope comparisons of Thornton to Jones are few and far between. Derryck is his own kind of special player and we're all going to love him.

In terms of aggregate production over a 40 minute game, I actually don't think there will be much of a drop off at all from Tyus to DT. As great as Tyus played, his aggregate numbers weren't overwhelming in view of his usage rate -- averaged 11.8 ppg and 5.6 assists on 42% shooting, and 38% from 3. QCook's numbers as a soph. PG were actually pretty comparable -- though obviously I think Tyus had better advanced medtrics. And, from what I've read, DT will be an upgrade defensively.

With that said, no doubt that we're going to miss Tyus's poise under pressure in the last 10 minutes for games -- where, he not only seemed to always play his best basketball, but often was borderline unstoppable. While Duke's had other great players who played well under pressure, aside from Laettner, not sure I can remember a star player who was as consistently reliable in the biggest moments as Tyus -- including many players who I think were clearly better than him. For instance, even though I don't think Tyus was nearly as a good as a soph. or jr. J-Will, not sure I wouldn't take Tyus over him in any final possession situation. I really think that is what we will miss most about him -- as we don't have any established stars returning, and its impossible to know how the new guys will perform in those kind of moments. As much as people reflexively say the 13-14 was a fundamentally flawed team b/c of size, PG play, etc., the biggest problem with that squad was it regularly lost the last 3-4 minutes of games b/c our star players (Parker, Hood) seemed to get tight and the team as a whole tended to not play well. That's where I think we're really going to miss Tyus.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

is thornton at duke yet?

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

never mind, saw the "coming soon" tweet....

 

[politicsasusual21]

How is his ft shooting? That is one thing I think really helped us this year was having both Cook and Jones be almost automatic from the line

 

[Mark Gastineau]

How is his ft shooting? That is one thing I think really helped us this year was having both Cook and Jones be almost automatic from the line

Indeed. Helped us close out a lot of close games. If memory serves me correctly, they were the top 2 FT shooters in the ACC last season.

 

[DukeDenver]

VCU fans over on Ram Nation "aren't worried" about Thornton because their defense is so good and he's a freshman...

 

[QC Dukie]

Don't worry VCU yours is coming.

OFC