HH Draft Profile: Sindarius Thornwell

Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates with South Carolina Gamecocks guard PJ Dozier (15) during the second half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates with South Carolina Gamecocks guard PJ Dozier (15) during the second half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Hardwood Houdini Draft Profiles

Sindarius Thornwell: South Carolina, SG

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 215

Age: 22

Click on the name for up to date stats: Sindarius Thornwell

Strengths

Defense:

Thornwell is a great on ball defender. He uses his feet on defense, and takes advantage of his size against other guards. Thornwell could potentially be able to guard up to three positions if he can keep up with an NBA wing player’s strength. Like most great defenders, Thornwell is very smart. He anchors the South Carolina defense as a perimeter defender, as he often knows exactly what the opposing offense will run. This type of ability and effort to study offenses will translate nicely to the NBA.

Scoring:

South Carolina does not score the ball very well outside of Thornwell, who has to carry his team on that end of the floor. Even though he took about 14 shots a game this season, his shooting percentages haven’t suffered. In fact, they improved from previous seasons to 44% from the floor, and 40% from three. Thornwell gets to the basket with his quickness and finishes a successful rate thanks to his craftiness. He averages about 22 points per game, so that combined with his defensive abilities make Thornwell a great all around player.

Leadership:

Thornwell is a senior leader on his Gamecocks squad, and does practically everything for his team on the floor. Along with his high scoring average and defensive efforts, Thornwell also averages seven rebounds and three assists. This is what led him to become the first player in his school’s history to win his conference’s player of the year award. No matter the level, leadership skills are always needed. Thornwell certainly has those key qualities.

Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Weaknesses

Age:

Thornwell is unfortunately a senior, and at 22 years old, he’ll have to catch on quick if he hopes to become a long term player in the NBA. His age will certainly hurt his draft stock, but the bright side is that he is on the younger side of being a senior in college. His skills and defensive abilities should make up for lost time in college, but if there’s one weakness to his game, is that we haven’t been able to enjoy it sooner.

Versatility:

At 6’5″, Thornwell can guard up to three positions on defense, but on offense he is limited to being a shooting guard. His playmaking skills haven’t really showed at South Carolina, but that’s probably because he was asked to shoulder such a big scoring load. We’ll see if Thornwell’s all around game extends to playmaking skills, but after four years in school he never really showed that he can distribute at a high level.

Next: NBA Comparison: Malik Monk

Thornwell has become a late riser in the NBA Draft conversation after having a stellar first weekend in the NCAA tournament. He lead his team to huge wins over Marquette and Duke. We’ll see how far he can carry the Gamecocks, as Thornwell’s draft stock will only rise with his team’s success. As far as what I have seen with Thornwell, I see an all around player that can absolutely play in the NBA.