Chris Holtmann says Bruce Thornton will be 'one of the best point guards in the country'

Ohio State‘s 93-77 win over Iowa on Saturday snapped a five-game losing streak for the Buckeyes. But in that game, freshman point guard Bruce Thornton had his work game of the season, being held scoreless and shooting 0% from the field. Following the win, Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann spoke about Thorton’s performance.

“Looking back on it I think Bruce, just the mental and physical fatigue at that position, it was different,” Holtmann said. “Malaki (Branham) played a lot but it started later, this started earlier for him and on top of that he’s running our team, it’s just a lot for a kid.”

Branham, who was selected in the first round of last year’s NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, did also have a large workload as a freshman a season ago. But unlike Thornton, was not the team’s point guard and primary ball handler tasked with initiating the team’s offense.

Thornton not only had the worst shooting day of his career, but played the least minutes of his career playing 15 minutes, as Holtman gave extended minutes to players like Isaac Likekele and Roddy Gayle Jr. to decrease his workload.

Thornton reverted back to his normal workload in the team’s next game versus Illinois and despite his recent struggles, Holtmann made a bold prediction about the future of his true freshman.

“Bruce is great and I really believe he’s going to be one of the best point guards in the country here before his time’s done. I have no question about that in my mind, he’s going to be one of the best point guards in the country before his time here is done. But he’s just got to continue to work through some things and obviously get physically better,” Holtmann said.

Holtmann’s take may seem like a hot one, especially considering that Thornton is averaging 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. But his ability to run and set up the team’s offense at such a young age is impressive, especially paired with his efficient shooting, making 41.9% of his shots and 41.1% from three-point range.

Thornton has definitely made his mark in his inaugural freshman season, and only time will tell if he can live up to Holtmann’s prophecy, as the Buckeyes take on Indiana this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.