Not knocking Thornwell, he can flat out play, but he was rated 4-stars by Scout, 24/7, Rivals, and ESPN. Did someone rate him 5-stars?

He had a Sophomore slump, but otherwise has steadily improved - thanks, at least in some part, to a better surrounding cast. But he's exploded this year.
Last year, he wasn’t projected to be drafted very well, if at all, so coming back was the right move. And he’s really improved his draft standing - to early 2nd round, possibly late 1st. He’s a poster child for (non-one-and-done) guys to return to college because he’s most likely increased his career earnings potential by hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not a million.

Talking about KCP below, the thing that comes to mind is Trey Tompkins and Travis Leslie leaving early. Trey was drafted mid-2nd round, and Travis late-2nd round. Neither lasted in the NBA more than a couple years. Had they returned to UGA, they’d have played with KCP, and that would have been a dynamite team. And they both would have been drafted earlier, and likely earned more over their pro career (career earnings are very closely correlated to draft position, I mean a 1st round guaranteed contract is huge).

One thing that does give me some hope is that we have several guys in a similar situation as Thornwell. We’ll have four 4-star guys (plus Yante) next year. They should all learn from Sindarius and not jump early - barring some huge jump in draft stock. But if Ogbeide, Crump, Harris and Hammonds play into their Sr (or at least Jr) seasons, we’ll have a good stockpile of experienced talent, and they will help their career earning potential to boot.



[Post edited by RedDawg at 03/24/2017 10:44AM]