Duke freshman guard Derryck Thornton is offering a new spin on the idea of a one-and-done. The Blue Devil announced he will be pursuing a transfer option to join a new college basketball home for the 2016-2017 season.
“I have loved my time at Duke, but I want to pursue the opportunity to play college basketball closer to home,” Thornton said in a released statement on Sunday. “I want to thank my teammates and coaches for their support this year. The relationships I have with them will always be special to me.”
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski offered his best wishes in a public statement as well.
“We wish Derryck the best and appreciate his contributions to our team this season,” Coach K said. “We support his decision and want only what is best for him in the future.”
A highly-touted recruit out of high school, Thornton appeared in 36 games for Duke and averaged 7.1 points and 2.6 assists per game in his freshman season. So what went wrong that caused Thornton to look for other options? A desire to play closer to home on the west coast appears to be in order, judging by some initial reaction seen on Twitter. That may be difficult to tell for sure, but his uncle certainly was not happy about how things played out in Durham.
YES….SO GLAD ITS OVER, BEEN HOLDING IT IN TOO LONG…#NEPHEW IS FREE!!!! https://t.co/ALC14yVlKd
— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
I was in the office at Duke when they BEGGED my #Nephew to Skip his Senior year..give up a piece of his childhood for a great opportunity
— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
Funny thing about Duke is when I would see the Assistant coaches on the Recruiting Trail, they were not even friendly or cool…
— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
Duke Coaches walk by and don't even give a #What'sUp
You gotta be better than that!!!— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
I don't know Coach K personally and this isn't an all out attack on his personal Character, I'm just saying #TheyLied
— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
Young boy worked on Ball Screens against Pro Players, shot jumpers off the dribble for hours but was only used in Pick & Roll 20+ times?!
— Mark Edwards (@MEdwardsBball) April 10, 2016
I can't say that Future Duke recruits will have the same experience as my guy, but moving forward I can say
Well, that is most certainly a hot and spicy take. The TL;DR recap is Duke coaches are accused of lying to city basketball players. That is one touchy and emotional subject of which I am far from qualified to comment on, but it is clear Thornton’s uncle is not happy with the way his son was treated by Duke’s staff. Family members ripping a relative’s soon-to-be-former program is nothing new, but they always manage to add a spicy meatball to the story. This is no exception.