Second-year guard Bruce Thornton (2) surveys the floor during Ohio State’s 73-51 win over Rutgers Sunday in Piscataway, NJ. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
The Buckeyes’ leading scorer from last season is returning.
Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton announced Tuesday via Instagram that he will return to the Buckeyes for the 2024-2025 basketball season.
“Buckeye nation, I’m coming back,” Thornton’s Instagram post said.
Thornton started and played in all 35 games last season and was also the team’s top scorer with 15.7 points per game. He led the team in assists, steals and minutes played as well.
His assist-to-turnover ratio was 168-to-42 last season, which was the second-best in the country. This led to Thornton being the third player in program history with more than 100 assists and fewer than 50 turnovers in a season.
The Fairburn, Georgia, native shot 85%from the free throw line and had three games with 10 or more free throws made. He also scored a career-high 29 points in a win over No. 17 Alabama in November and notched his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 10 assists vs. No. 13 Illinois in March.
As a freshman, the four-star recruit was the only player on the team to play and start all 35 games and led the team with 29 steals. This past season, his accolades included 2024 All-Big Ten Third Team, 2023 Emerald Coast Classic Most Valuable Player and 2024 Academic All-Big Ten.
