Nov. 22, 2005
ORLANDO - UCF men's basketball head coach Kirk Speraw announced on Tuesday that Andre Thornton has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Golden Knights in the fall of 2006. Thornton is a 6-foot-7 power forward from Memphis, Tenn.
Thornton is entering his senior season at Mitchell High School, where he plays for coach Jerry Johnson. As a junior in 2004-05, he averaged 15.9 points and nine rebounds per game. Following the season, he earned all-metro honors from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
Off of the court, Thornton has also excelled at Mitchell. Academically, he is ranked first out of 198 seniors in his class. Thornton serves as senior-class president and has been recognized as an honor-roll student each year in high school.
"It is not very often that you are able to recruit and get to know a young man who is the senior-class president, on pace to be the valedictorian of his class and is also the co-captain of one of the top basketball teams in the country," said Speraw. "In Andre, we are not only getting a very good basketball player, but a young man with great character."
Mitchell High School is considered the top team in Memphis and one of the best squads in the country. The Tigers will make a pair of appearances on national television this year. Their games against Huntsville-Butler (Jan. 28) and Brentwood Academy (Feb. 11) will both be shown on ESPN.
Thornton is the second high school senior to ink an NLI with UCF this fall. Tony Davis, a 6-foot-7 forward from Sarasota, Fla., signed with the program on Nov. 9.
The Golden Knights will be looking to make their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament this season. UCF is in its first campaign as a member of Conference USA. Dating back to the start of the 2001-02 season, the Golden Knights have won 70 contests, a mark that ranks 24th nationally and second in the state of Florida.