An Interview With Hornets Guard Marcus Thornton

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Published: June 20, 2010

Recently Hornets247 had the privilege of interviewing Marcus Thornton at a local basketball camp where he was showing off some skills to the youngsters. Some outside of New Orleans remember Marcus best for his sick dunk on Gerald Wallace, which wound up being NBA dunk of the Week. Fact is though, that was just a drop in the bucket of awesomeness that he brought with him to the NBA.

If you’ve been drinking away the summer pain, you may have forgotten about Marcus (unlikely, but some of you do live in New Orleans). If that’s the case, allow me to reintroduce him.

A few notes-

 

Stat Points per 48 Points per shot Shooting percentage Three point percentage
Marcus Thornton 26.6 1.19 44.6 40.3
Thornton’s overall NBA rank 17th 83rd 89th 17th
Thornton’s rank among SG’s 6th 14th 13th 5th

 

Let’s get to the interview:

 

Joe: What sort of drills are you working on this summer to improve offensively? Is there anything specific?

Marcus: Not really, I’ve just been working on about everything.

Joe: Last year you played some point guard. Is there anything you work on that applies specifically to that position?

Marcus: Yeah, yeah, well you know unfortunately cp3 went down, so I had to take over at times. I’ve been playing point guard my whole life, so I’m used to it.

Joe: Do you like playing point guard?

Marcus: Yeah, you’re always in charge of the tempo, you’re running the team getting everybody passes. It’s fun.

Joe: Is there anything you are working toward on the defensive side of the ball?

Marcus: Just doing the same things as last year. Just working to be more active on my man to keep him from driving.

Joe: You’ve been know as someone who drives hard, and finishes hard, at least among your rabid fans. Have you posterized your dunk on Gerald Wallace?

Marcus: *Laughs* No I haven’t but a couple of my friends did. You know, that was one of the highlights of my rookie year, nut it’s over. I think about it from time to time, but it overs

Joe: What was the biggest highlight of your rookie year, if you had to pick one?

Marcus: Just being in the nba period. Being able to live out my dream and playing with the guys I used to look up to.

Joe: Any comments on Monty Williams?

Marcus: Nah, I’m just ready to work with him. He’s a good guy. I talked to hin and I think it’s goign to worlk

Joe: Is there anything specifically that he brings to the table that maybe Jeff Bower couldn’t give to you?

Marcus: He’s played the game. and he’s been around a long time. He knows what’s going on in the NBA.

Joe: I wanted to ask a little about Robert Pack and the role he played in your development.

Marcus: Ah man, he was huge. ME and DC will both vouche for him. I hope he’s back because he was a big part of our success last year.

Joe: Anything specific?

Marcus: He was just there when we needed him. He brought us in hours and hours before practice and just made us do what we had to do to get better. He was a player once, so he knows what he’s doing out there.

Joe: You had a hard time getting calls last year. Have you considered the David West tactic of just shouting “and one” every time you shoot the ball?

Marcus: *Laughs* No. I guess that comes with being a rookie and hope that it gets better next year.

Joe: Some worried that you were undersized, and most attribute that to why you fell so far in the draft. Do you still use that as motivation or have you put it behind you?

Marcus: No I don’t think about that, I just try to do my best like last year. Size really doesn’t matter if you’re playing hard.

Joe: You, Paul, and Mo-P are in a three point shooting contest. Who wins?

Marcus: Well what do you think? *Laughs*

Joe: I guess I’d take you at this point. You hit the most last year at a pretty good clip. Who knows with CP though. What if we add Peja?

Marcus: What do you think?

Joe: Tough to say. Peja’s been known to knock them down in the past.

Marcus: I guess we’ll have to get that going one day

Joe: Do you work out with any other NBA players this summer?

Marcus: No, not that much. I’ve been real busy.

Joe: Do you keep up with a lot of the other guys?

Marcus: Yeah, me, CP, DC, you know we get together.

Joe: I assume that one of the reasons that you and Collison were so successful is because you worked together so much. Have you and Chris had the opportunity to work together much?

Marcus: Yeah, actually I just left fromm his home town like a week ago. We’ve been together this whole summer so we’ve had a lot of time to get on the same page.

Joe: OK, Marcus. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

Marcus: Aright take it easy.


Sounds like Marcus is ready to go for next season. Here are a few articles we’ve written in the past-

Marcus Thornton and Vinnie Johnson

Collison and Thornton: A New Hope

Marcus Thornton: Steal of the Draft

The Evolution of Buckets

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