Marcus Thornton: Former Ranger basketball player succeeds in NBA

Former Kilgore College basketball stand-out Marcus Thornton has made a big spash in the NBA.  

He currently plays for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for KC and LSU and was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.

Watch YouTube Video

Thornton played two years at KC where he averaged 14.5 points as a freshman in 2005-06, shooting at 65 percent from the field.

He averaged 26.9 points in his second season at Kilgore in 2006-07, earning first-team Junior College All-American honors and MVP honors for Region XIV.

Following his sophomore season, Thornton transferred to Louisiana State University. As a junior in 2007-08 playing for the Tigers, he averaged 19.6 points (second in the SEC) and shot 81.7 percent from the free-throw line, the second-best percentage in the conference.

As a senior in 2008-09, he averaged 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, earning the 2009 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

In two seasons at LSU, he finished with 1,347 points, 21st all-time and with a 20.4 scoring average, he ranked sixth all-time.