January 13, 2010
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Memphis’ Sam Young, San Antonio’s DeJuan Blair, Sacramento’s Jon Brockman, Detroit’s Jonas Jerebko, Houston’s Chase Budinger and the Hornets’ Marcus Thornton are all ’09 second-round picks who’ve been thrust into prominent roles at times. Officially picked by Miami at No. 43 overall, Thornton was traded to New Orleans on draft night, allowing the Baton Rouge native to continue his basketball career in his home state.
Like for the vast majority of rookies, Thornton’s entry to the NBA has included a few ups and downs, but the highlights have been impressive. Through Jan. 10, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard’s 24-point game at Miami on Nov. 22 was the best single-game output by any 2009 second-round pick this season. Thornton has topped the 20-point mark in four separate games; the rest of the entire ’09 second-round class had combined for the same number of 20-point games (Young has three of them, Jerebko has one) through Jan. 10.
“You really never count on guys in the second round to become major contributors, because it’s rare,” Hornets assistant coach Charlie Parker said. “But now that Marcus is in a position to contribute, he ought to have a chip on his shoulder. He should be saying, ‘A lot of teams – almost every team – missed out on picking me. I need to show them what they missed out on. You might think I’m a second-round player, but I’m here to stay. I’m going to do everything possible to stay in this league.’”
While Thornton’s best moments as a rookie helped New Orleans recover from its early-season struggles, the talented 22-year-old possesses a significant amount of untapped potential. Though his learning curve has been accelerated by averaging about 17 minutes over his first 29 NBA appearances, there are several details of the game Thornton must master to continue his improvement.
After speaking extensively with Parker and fellow Hornets assistant coach Paul Pressey, here are four things you may not know about the ongoing development and NBA education of Marcus Thornton:
1) Defense is priority number one.
Thornton’s ability to score was the primary reason NBA talent evaluators believed he could play in the league. As a college senior, the 2008-09 SEC Player of the Year averaged 21.1 points per game, proving he was a prolific scorer against elite competition. In the NBA, though, the vast majority of shooting guards are talented offensive players. What separates many NBA two guards from the competition at their position is that they are also excellent defenders.
This is the area where Hornets coaches believe Thornton can make the biggest strides. Since virtually every starting shooting guard in the NBA is a dangerous scorer, there are never any nights off at the defensive end.
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Although he is a bit undersized for a shooting guard at 6-4, Thornton has a few things working to his advantage at that end of the floor, including his athleticism and anticipation. Coaches say he often “plays bigger” than 6-4 on offense, where he uses his quick and explosive leaping ability to seize rebounds. Partly due to those attributes, Pressey believes Thornton can develop into a formidable defender.
“I think he will become a very good defensive player when he understands the concepts of what we’re trying to do as a team,” Pressey assessed. “It’s still a process for him. One thing he has struggled with on defense is ball-watching. He watches the ball, but doesn’t focus enough on where his man is. (Defenders) should see the ball and their man. That’s going to take time.
“But there is always a learning process for young players who are not playing a ton of minutes. If they play a lot, they will learn naturally because you’re throwing them right into the fire. He doesn’t have that luxury right now. So we have to show him and talk to him all the time about what he needs to do.”
2) Knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot isn’t as simple as it seems.
Like the majority of NBA players, Thornton was the go-to guy and No. 1 option on his college team. When LSU needed a key basket last winter, everyone in the arena knew where the ball should go. With his pro team, however, that’s rarely the case for Thornton – which brings us to one of the biggest adjustments rookies must make in the NBA.
“He already knows how to score, but we need to teach him how to score within the confines of the idea that there are four other great players on the court with him,” Parker said. “It’s not just, ‘I come down and it’s my turn to shoot.’ You have to do it in the concept of the offense and take into consideration the other players on the floor. That’s one thing we’re really trying to work with him on.”
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“You never say it’s a bad shot if a player is capable of making it, and most shots Marcus takes he’s capable of making, but there are timing elements a player must be aware of,” Parker said. “There is the time on the shot clock, the game situation, and what the team is trying to get out of a specific play. For example, if he takes a jump shot, but the play was designed to get the ball inside, well, that’s not a good shot.
“Would we be happy if he makes the shot (in that situation)? Of course. But it’s not what we really want. All young players have to learn the difference between what the team wants, and what the team wants out of him.”
3) Patience is a virtue.
With few exceptions, all NBA players logged substantial minutes throughout their high school and college careers, partly because they’ve often been the best player on whatever team they’ve suited up for since they were old enough to dribble. In the case of many NBA rookies, that means that the professional level is the first time they’ve ever spent the majority of games watching from the sideline. That makes many rookies even more anxious to produce stats and dazzling plays during their abbreviated time on the floor, but having that mentality is usually counterproductive.
“One of the biggest things is being patient and understanding that his time will come,” said Pressey, who played 11 years in the NBA and averaged 19 minutes per game as a rookie in 1982-83 with Milwaukee. “That’s always one of the toughest things for rookies. There are only a handful of them who come in and get to play (significant minutes) right away. The majority of them are going to be up and down (in terms of playing time).”
That’s certainly been the case with Thornton as well. During an 11-game stretch in November and December, he played 20 minutes or more 10 times, but in the next 10 games, he only had one 20-minute game. Some of the decrease in minutes was due to improved play by teammates, including a red-hot shooting stretch by starting guard Devin Brown.
4) It’s all a “work in progress.”
Everyone who reaches the NBA is talented, but what sometimes makes the difference between a player having an average career in the league – or an outstanding career – is the amount of time he puts in working to improve. With Thornton not playing 30-plus minutes per game this season, that makes his practice days and the upcoming 2010 offseason even more critical to his future success in the league.
Parker explains: “Marcus had a reputation in college of not really working hard. This summer, we saw some of that. But to be honest, since then, we’ve talked to him and he’s really improved in that area. He’s now one of the hardest workers for us.
“Sometimes he needs to be reminded, but when he is, he really picks up his effort. He’s stayed after practice, come in before practice and come in to work on some off days. We really need him to continue to do that. Because as an undersized two guard in the NBA, and being a rookie, it’s not enough just to be there for practice. You have to do extra and develop some habits that are going to put you above some of your disadvantages.”
