A coup for Mark Fox: Mr. Basketball Marcus picks Georgia
Marcus Thornton sets his cap. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Marcus Thornton was the No. 1 player in Georgia, but he’s not in the top 100 nationally. (Rivals has him No. 121.) He is, however, a major acquisition for Mark Fox and a Bulldog program that still has to prove it can recruit as well as it coaches.
Background: Thornton, of Westlake High, signed with Clemson last fall when most among us figured Fox’s Hounds would do well to go 10-20. He became the recruiting equivalent of a free agent when Oliver Purnell inexplicably bolted for DePaul, which is among the worst jobs in the country.
On his second go-round, Thornton considered Georgia Tech, Texas and Alabama before committing to Georgia on Wednesday. (Because he’d already signed one letter-of-intent, he technically cannot sign another. The rule: One signed letter per player, even if the recruit has been released from it.) And this is big news for Fox.
Georgia finished an honorable 14-17 in the season just completed, beating Tech, Illinois, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Florida en route. But that was accomplished with the players Fox inherited from Dennis Felton, and two of them — Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie — turned out to be quite good. It’s clear from one season that Fox can coach what talent he has. At issue was whether a guy who’d never before worked east of Manhattan, Kan., could attract talent.
Marcus Thornton was kind of an early acid test. Fox had no shot at him last fall because Fox hadn’t yet proved anything to us locals, but when the state’s Mr. Basketball becomes unaccountably available and you’re the state school … well, you pretty much have to get him, don’t you?
The playing field for Thornton, Take 2, wasn’t quite level. As tempting as it is to fault Paul Hewitt for not landing a power forward after losing two early to the NBA draft, the ACC has a funny rule about transfers within the conference. Thornton might well have to had to sit out next season had he enrolled at Tech. He told the ol’ AJC on Wednesday that possibility played no part in his choice, but how could it be ignored?
Besides, Hewitt has Kammeon Holsey, a freshman coming off an injury, to play power forward. And the biggest problem with Hewitt isn’t his recruiting, as we know. It’s what happens — or what doesn’t happen — when those recruits get to campus.
Put simply, Fox needed Thornton to prove that Fox could get a Thornton. And he did. And now you’d have to say Georgia has a chance to spike upward in a massively unsettled SEC East. Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida should be good. The Bulldogs could be, too.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
197 comments Add your comment
Coon-Dawg
May 20th, 2010
12:31 am
College Athletics is the coach ! … Coach Fox is one of “those” guys ! Even the GT fans know it ! … Congrats coach … This is only the beginning ! Go Dawgs !!!
Bernie Matt
May 20th, 2010
12:47 am
So Paul can’t coach, but Mark Fox went 14-17 with 2 projected NBA first rounders, and he’s okay. You people are as sick!
cdog
May 20th, 2010
1:16 am
mark, who cares about marcus thornton being ranked in the top 100.as far as we bulldog fan are concern, he is ranked no 1.you should not have put that part in about.thornton will make the bulldogs into a possible final four team. you can’t buck him at all.
hunker down
May 20th, 2010
1:24 am
Glad to see you staying in state. welcome home Dawg!!!!!!!!!!!!
DawginIraq
May 20th, 2010
2:40 am
I can’t believe how may posts there are abount Georgia B-ball. Great to see the intrest picking up. To Harold: what does it matter what coach Fox looks like? And TN has momentum in recruiting right now, but picking up this kid is a great start for a Georgia program that has been down for so long. Great job mr. Fox. And by the way, the national rankings just befuddle me. I am of the opinion that their opinion is like armpits, everyone has a couple and most of the time they stink.
Michael Adams
May 20th, 2010
3:00 am
LMAO…the top “player” in Ga in ranked 121 overall in the US? Good luck UGA with that “coup”. The national power that is UGA will no doubt we boosted with this signing. UGA will still be regulated to their usual status as bottom feeders. I just hope he has the intelligence to pass the “high” academic standards set forth for the +1,000,000 student body!
Michael Adams
May 20th, 2010
3:13 am
UGA B’ball= No tradition, no titles, no fan base, no school support! Why don’t you fools just concentrate on football? Your basketball facility(rodeo?) is a cesspool where Athens’ homeless wouldn’t even be caught dead near. It’s even worse when your program is overshadowed by the ladies (I use that term very loosely) program! Good luck Marcus, this program needs it. Many a better player as tried and failed to turn this useless program around!
blackprix
May 20th, 2010
4:12 am
As a Tech fan, I like what I’ve seen from Coach Fox. I like what I’ve seen from him more than what I’ve seen from Hewitt.
This might be the final straw to get rid of Hewitt if Fox starts out recruiting Hewitt and continues to beat him!
If this is what it takes, I say good. Tech NEEDS a new basketball coach plain and simple!
hunker down
May 20th, 2010
5:41 am
I think this shows the reliability is not always correct in recruiting services. When Marcus is Mr. GA basketball player and not rraked in the the top 100 in the nation I have to say what gives? Ga has produced historcally its fair share of top high profile athletes and I find it hard to believe that the best in GA does not crack he top 100.
mike
May 20th, 2010
6:24 am
good luck coach and go get two more……go dawgs
Bulldog59
May 20th, 2010
6:59 am
Ignore all the comments from the Georgia haters. This is a great moment for Georgia basketball and a milestone in the Mark Fox era.
Joe, I have to agree. Mentioning us with UK, UF, and UT, is a bit of a tall order at this point. But with this line-up, who knows how far we’ll go.
BuzztheKiller
May 20th, 2010
7:05 am
Does UGA have a basketball team? I thought they killed it after the basketball history class scandal. Remember? How many points do you get for a three pointer???? Love that one.
GT
May 20th, 2010
7:10 am
Marcus Thornton is not even in the top 100 in the country, so he is no one and done player. He won’t even be the best or second best player on his team next year. Once again what is up with the quality of these Mr. Basketballs in this state. Tech had one last year that will be lucky to get drafted, couldn’t hit a free throw if it was the ocean. Georgia has a winner in the other Thornton out of Wesleyan who played on the same team with Smith who is has started since he got to Clemson. Did anyone notice Brandon Reed was freshman of the year in his Division 1 conference. Division one A basketball has produced better players on the whole, with less notice. Reason? They develop the whole student which make for a better basketball player, not to mention people. Coachablity, discipline, unselfishness. You use to have to have that just to get into Tech, still do at places like Duke.
BullyMack
May 20th, 2010
7:18 am
Man ‘o man are the Techies jealous. Funny how your football coach is the second coming but our up and coming Mark Fox is garbage and you’re so dismissive about our invigorated Bball program that is looking up while you guys are consistently bad-mouthing your own Hewitt. Lame. Anyone want to bet they will be gritting their teeth that Fox isn’t manning the sidelines at the ‘Joke By The Coke’ in another year or two?
» SEC links: Georgia gets Thornton; Baseball cranks up John Clay’s Sidelines
May 20th, 2010
7:29 am
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that Georgia gets a coup with the pickup of Marcus Thornton. [...]
BullyMack
May 20th, 2010
7:30 am
Anyone hear that? Are those sirens? Ho, hum, just another pedestrian getting mugged near the Tech campus. Between that and being reminded of the Bulldawgs everyday by looking at the co-ed’s on your campus I’d be upset too.
Bobby
May 20th, 2010
7:52 am
Looks like we just squeezed the pipeline of talent to UK,Tech and others with CMF…. The Steg is gonna be awesome with all the new additions this year and I look at UGA BBall the same way as Fla.football years ago…All we ever needed was a coach who will hang in there, build the program and put his stamp on it….
WonderDawg
May 20th, 2010
8:06 am
While UGA is the “state school”, MB, Tech is certainly considered the better basketball school, and for good reason. Tech already gets some of major talent in-state. Say what you want about Hewitt’s coaching, but he is an excellent recruiter.
That’s why I think this is a big deal. Fox went head to head with Tech and Texas (and others) and won. Maybe this is a sign that UGA is gonna be give Tech, and other BB powers some competition for the good Georgia players.
Vivian
May 20th, 2010
8:07 am
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. I heard UGA offered the kid free tattoos and a deck of “get out of jail free” cards.
HMMM
May 20th, 2010
8:07 am
I thought basketball didn’t matter to UGA fans?
Fanny
May 20th, 2010
8:11 am
Now that we’re officially in the off-season, wouldn’t this be the perfect time to take an in-depth look at UGA and have a free-ranging discussion about the problems at UGA and why the arrest rate of players is the highest in the country? it’s common knowledge that UGA is a party school, but have any football players every actually graduated with a real degree? Jan Kemp exposed the school and the coaches almost three decades ago, but there is no sign that anything has improved; if anything, the arrest rate shows that things are getting more outrageous every year while Mark Richt – a decent fellow with no coaching skills – has no clue what to do.
UGA has become a major embarrassment to all Georgians, and we want some answers starting now.
RM
May 20th, 2010
8:12 am
Huge pick-up for UGA no matter what the nerds say! What ever happened to that Polee kid in LA? Did he commit elsewhere? Go Dawgs!!
Gen Neyland
May 20th, 2010
8:15 am
To garner the interest of Thornton is good for UGA and it’s basketball program. It shows that the past clusterbang eras have been laid to rest. I think Fox has the ability to coach up this team and get them to really believe in themselves. The problem for Fox is that he’s gonna lose two talented players after next season so his work in recruiting and building is only just beginning. Good luck…
Chuck
May 20th, 2010
8:18 am
This thread demonstrates pretty conclusively that fans of ALL teams will attack a player that opts not to join their program
SEC links: Georgia gets Thornton; Baseball cranks up « MrSEC.com
May 20th, 2010
8:20 am
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that Georgia gets a coup with the pickup of Marcus Thornton. [...]
atlvol55
May 20th, 2010
8:20 am
First of all, the Atlanta media needs to quit referring to Thorton as the best basketball player in Georgia…he is not. Thorton is rated as about the fifth or sixth best player…
Again, Trae Golden from Powder Springs (Tennessee signee) was the player of the year in Geogia and a top 50 prospects as was Jordan McRae, from near Savannah (again a TN signee to 50ish type player)…
Also, the kid from here in Atlanta who signed with Memphis is also much more highly rated…
I’m not bashing Georgia, Thorton is a good get for them, but this guy isn’t some 5 star recruit that they AJC has made him out to be
Chuck
May 20th, 2010
8:23 am
Fanny, you’re a lunatic. If you are embarassed because the Athens Barneys have crackdowns on beer possession and driving-a-scooter-while-black, then you’re living in a fantasy land.
The police forces of most cities, especially Tech’s home-base in Atlanta, have legitimate crime problems to worry about. I have no doubt that Tech players can do whatever they want on scooters, and can blend in as underage drinkers a lot better in the larger, less concentrated drinking population of Atlanta.
But make whatever foolish claims you want. You are either hopelessly naive, or you’re simply trying to create a perception that doesn’t match reality. I think it’s the latter.
Mark Fox
May 20th, 2010
8:28 am
Get a clue, you imbeciles. I am just building up your mid-major program so I can Lane Kiffen your hillbilly behinds and leave for a far better program!
Big Sack Dawg
May 20th, 2010
8:29 am
Mark – for the first time in a long time I feel good about where GA Basketball is headed. I certainly don’t follow it nearly as close as I do football but I want to shed light on something. I believe Fox to be a good modern day recruiter, embracing the technology made available to him. I have seen a trend in the last couple of years where social networking has been utilized by some coaches. It is also embraced by the youth/the athletes of today. Fox uses Twitter to broadcast what is happening with basketball in the bulldog nation. Kids are watching/following that. Other Coaches who are active on twitter are Urban Myer and Lane CYA LATER Kiffin. It puts them out there as an indirect contact to potential scholarship athletes.
Mark Richt has a twitter account and he’s “tweeted” about 4 times in the last 2 years. Are we missing an opportunity to broadcast ourselves here? I think maybe so, Even if Richt had his admin assistant to do the tweets on his behalf(Spurrier style), I think he needs that presence in the social networking realm. The kids are eating it up. The kids themselves love the celebrity status they get with followers. Richts followers are listening closely for a heartbeat. Thoughts?
not in the top 100 for a reason
May 20th, 2010
8:41 am
HunkerDown- the state does have 2 players ranked in the top 20 of 2010, Ryan Harrow is #19 per Rivals and Jelan Kendrick is #15 per Rivals….and you are right, this state has produced some studs over the past several years, but thornton’s nowhere near that kinda player…this is a huge overreaction to a player is who solid but not spectacular, hence why hes not rated higher…he wasnt even the consensus top player in this state based on season awards, true he won Mr basketball, but Ryan Harrow was the true top player….Harrow was named Gatorade player of the Year while Kendrick was a McDonalds AA and a Jordan Brand AA….most of the recent players from this state that won Mr Basketball were also winners of everything else i just listed, ie Favors Aminu took all honors, Hickson and Lawal were mcdonalds AAs and i think Lawal was Mr basketball, though Hickson was clearly the best player in that class….anyways, my point is thornton is an OK player who probably wont fail at UGA but also probably wont standout
how2fish
May 20th, 2010
8:45 am
Fanny it would be a great time to talk about what you were doing in the back seat of that SUV at Cowboys last Sat nite…was that really a dwarf and a goat back there with you and the fogged up windows?
how2fish
May 20th, 2010
8:47 am
atlvol55 Mark Fox beat you last year, this kid will help the team be better overall..nuff said.
seahawk
May 20th, 2010
8:52 am
I’m an avid UGA basketball fan since Coach Rosemond. No, GA bball program is not as strong as FL or KY, and it won’t be for a while. Right now we are trying to achieve 8 wins in the sec east, then 9.
I’m proud of Mark Fox and his players for the job they did last year and I’m looking forward to the coming season. All the haters please take a hike. For the rest of you, get behind our team and let everybody know we are proud of em!!
F-105 Thunderchief
May 20th, 2010
8:52 am
With the one-or-two-and-done nature of college basketball right now, coaches have to be able to take rosters and win with them right away. Fox essentially has landed three top players by keeping the two he inherited. UGA could have a darn good season next year and prime the pump to keep the good players coming in season after season.
Reality Check
May 20th, 2010
8:54 am
All the Georgia Haters beware. UGA beat GT head up, trashed UT (split series), and nearly beat UK on the road with about two or three real division one players on the roster. With these new recruits coming in expect better things. No one is suggesting that we will be on par with Kentucky, but UGA has already beaten GT 6 out of 10 years including the Dennis Felton era.
bulldogsteve
May 20th, 2010
9:00 am
If Tech is such a great place, then why did they not get him the first time around before he signed with Clemson? UGA has made some great strides to improve itself with Fox. If he turned down Tech the first time, why do you think he would have signed with them this time with no changes?
Coach Cool
May 20th, 2010
9:20 am
Why on Earth does the SEC use divisions for basketball?
Oh yeah, because it’s a football conference.
DawginLex
May 20th, 2010
9:25 am
Great get for coach Fox-a solid 4 year player to build around and get other recruits interested. We all know next year will be good but some serious stockpiling needs to happen so that the next year is not a repeat of past UGA seasons.
Calipari just got Terrence Jones from Oregon and stole him away from UW. UK has the #1 recruiting class in the nation again and will be top 10 again. UGA can realistically compete with UK this year for the division but will most likely finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th. Florida is loaded and UT will be solid again.
UGA can make the NCAA’s though and that would be a solid accomplishment in year 2 for Coach Fox.
snapshot
May 20th, 2010
9:26 am
muttville better hope they get good at basketball cause their football program is going down hill fast.
GT BABY
May 20th, 2010
9:39 am
let me tell you something about this kid
Notso Fast
May 20th, 2010
9:43 am
Good for Ga. He wont stay 4 years but it’s a sign that in-state players will also look to Ga. It’s a indication of good things ahead for the Bulldogs.
GT BABY
May 20th, 2010
9:44 am
After westlake beat central gwinnett in the final four of the playoffs, Westlake moved on to play someone for the national championship. Rumor has it, Thornton didnt play that game because he injured himself. Not only did he injure himself, he injured himself during warm ups while giving a team mate a chest bump and twisted his ankle……HAHAHAHAHA TRUE STORY. Westlake went on to lose the game as you could imagine.
richtfan
May 20th, 2010
9:44 am
Mark,
If the rule says that Thornton can only sign one LOI, then how is he able to sign and play at uga?
Hold on there Mr President
May 20th, 2010
9:57 am
CMF has a plan and that plan is endorsed by hungry UGA B Ball fans. He plans on building UGA into a perennial 20-10 or 22-8 type of team. This past year was a modest step toward achieving his goal. Step # 1 it was. Nice, nice job, Coach. You ARE A COACH,SIR.
With the returning players and the transfer shooter from MTSU? and one or two of his new recruits, Mark can now work toward step 2. That is to win maybe 19 or 20 for season 2010-11 and possibly win two in the SEC tourney and possibly get into The Dance, come March. This is very, very achievable for UGA.
Step # 3 is to go maybe 22-8 or 23-7 and make some major noise in the SEC reg season, with some out of conf wins, and come up with a couple of break through conference wins ( not necessarily winning the SEC ) and then winning the SEC tourney or playing for the conf tourney championship. Then, another invite to the Dance and advancing deeply9 2 games or 3?) in that tourney.
If this schedule can be completed within 3 years …………….THIS is what UGA would love to have. UGA folks do not expect NC’s in BBall or many SEC Championships. We just want our B Ball to be quite decent and it easily can be with CMF and our local state talent. Once we achieve all of this, then the GRADS will be happy to drop some major $$$ on new digs for the team.
All the rest can easily fall into place for UGA ,if we meet these simple goals.
Go Dogs.
trey
May 20th, 2010
10:02 am
He didn’t want to be a bug. Just accept the fact and stop spinning trying to make your yellow selves feel better.
UGA’s basketball team wasn’t even a blip on the radar screen this past season and it still whipped the taliban. LMAO
Oh and in case you forgot: ((30-24)) so glad it STILL hurts soooo bad.
GT BABY
May 20th, 2010
10:03 am
GEORGIA FANS ARE SO PREDICTABLE. GEORGIA FANS DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL. YALL DONT EVEN KEEP UP WITH UGA BASKETBALL, NOW YOU ACT LIKE YOU CARE. WHAT A JOKE YALL ARE. WHEN GEORGIA ENDS THE FOOTBALL SEASON IN THE TOP 10 (LIKE TECH DID) COME TALK TO ME. WHEN GEORGIA MAKES IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND IN THE BIG DANCE ( LIKE TECH DID) COME TALK TO ME. WHEN GEORGIA IS IN THE TOP 5 IN BASEBALL ( LIKE TECH IS) COME TALK TO ME. HOW THE HELL IS A SCHOOL LIKE GT BETTER THAN GEORGIA IN EVERY SPORT? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
PS-HAVE FUN IN SHEREVPORT LOSERS!
PeachDawg
May 20th, 2010
10:08 am
Hold on there Mr President – You need to put the bong down before you hurt yourself. That sounds a lot like the football predictions every year. Football’s one thing, basketball’s a different thing altogether in the Classic City. Let’ not get too over-hyped.
Ten at 10: Georgia’s best hoops addition had no signing ceremony | AJC College Sports Recruiting
May 20th, 2010
10:11 am
[...] 1. By securing on Wednesday the signing of “Mr. Georgia Basketball,” Marcus Thornton, Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox locked down a pretty good incoming class for his first full year of recruiting. In addition to the 6-foot-8 forward (that’s the height at which the Bulldogs now list him), they signed 6-8 forward Cady Lalanne of Orlando; 6-9 forward Donte Williams of Atlanta; and 6-2 guard Sharrard Brantley of Dublin (via Northwest Florida College). But the biggest addition for Fox’s 2010-11 squad has been on campus for the past year. While Georgia’s rivals might say they didn’t land any four- or five-star talent, the Bulldogs could counter that their most impactful addition didn’t have a signing ceremony. Gerald Robinson Jr., a 6-1 guard from Nashville, transferred to UGA last year from Tennessee State where he averaged 16.6 points over two seasons. Teammates and coaches often said he proved in daily practices to be among the Bulldogs’ top three players right away. . . . In case you missed it, AJC columnist Mark Bradley weighed in last night on Georgia’s acquisition of Thornton. [...]
robodawg
May 20th, 2010
10:17 am
Something’s building in Athens!
Wreckmaniac
May 20th, 2010
10:19 am
It feels so good to be a dawg ? Yes, ignorance can be bliss.