Buckeye Nation’s Whirlwind Spring: How Bruce Thornton’s Brief NBA Detour and Portal Rumors Lit Columbus Ablaze

If you blinked this spring, you might have missed the wildest 48-hour roller-coaster Ohio State basketball has seen since the Thad Matta glory days. One minute junior point-guard Bruce Thornton was posing for Instagram photos in a tailored charcoal suit, announcing he would “test the NBA waters”; the next, message boards were peddling claims that the Buckeyes’ engine might be powering up a surprise transfer. For a fanbase still savoring the late-season surge that carried Jake Diebler’s first full year to a 24-11 finish, the uncertainty felt like the hardwood equivalent of a tornado warning siren blaring over the Olentangy.

Thornton’s decision to file his early-entry paperwork in late April was hardly unprecedented; the NCAA’s 2018 rule change encourages underclassmen to gather feedback without forfeiting eligibility. Still, because the 6-foot-2 floor general had hinted on “Buckeye Roundtable Live” that he dreamed of a senior year capstone run, hearing he had hired agency representation landed like a gut punch at the team’s annual postseason banquet. Fresh off averages of 17.7 points, 4.6 assists and a blistering 42 percent from deep, Thornton finished second-team All-Big Ten and was projected as a fringe first-rounder in several analytical models.

Simultaneously, NIL collectives from the SEC and Big East reportedly made overtures—anonymous boosters dangling seven-figure packages to lure the Alpharetta native into the transfer portal. While no formal paperwork was ever filed, a single cryptic tweet from Thornton’s longtime trainer (“big moves soon…stay tuned”) detonated across Ohio-State Twitter. Before long, bookmakers in Las Vegas had posted odds on Thornton’s next school, with Alabama, Arkansas and Xavier all appearing on the board.

The peak of the frenzy arrived May 27. Local sports-talk juggernaut 97.1 The Fan opened its morning show with leaked audio claiming that Thornton’s camp had scheduled private workouts with three NBA teams and exploratory Zoom calls with multiple college staffs. Lines to buy scarlet jerseys at the campus bookstore reportedly extended onto High Street. By mid-afternoon a Change.org petition—“Keep Bruce in Columbus”—had surpassed 8,000 signatures. Cavernous Value City Arena felt like a ghost town as players dispersed for finals week; yet a cluster of students assembled on the south plaza holding homemade signs begging their captain not to leave.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the maelstrom subsided. On May 30 the NBA released its official list of 50 prospects withdrawing before the NCAA’s retention deadline, and Thornton’s name appeared in bold type.

Sources inside the program say Diebler’s staff had contingency plans—pursuing portal guards like Memphis transfer Mikey Williams—but nothing replicated Thornton’s command of the offense. His return cements Ohio State as a preseason top-25 pick, with sophomore sharpshooter Devin Royal and five-star freshman Justus Herro flanking him on the wings.

Sports psychologists may one day study the emotional whiplash experienced by Buckeye Nation. In the immediate aftermath, threads on ElevenWarriors morphed from “Fire everyone” to “Hang Diebler’s banner now.” A sampling of social-media sentiment:

Thornton’s whirlwind underscores the new calculus for elite collegians. The guard leveraged legitimate professional interest to gather intel, apply pressure for roster upgrades, and—if whispers are accurate—strengthen his NIL portfolio to the tune of mid-six figures. For athletic departments, the episode illustrates the razor-thin line between program stability and total reset. And for fans, it serves as a reminder that loyalty now shares space with leverage.

Summer workouts begin July 6, where insiders say Thornton is already orchestrating early-morning pick-and-roll reps with blue-chip transfer center Jonas Aidoo. With the Buckeyes’ non-conference slate featuring neutral-site battles against Duke and Texas, Thornton’s decision to stay provides a marquee storyline—and perhaps a season-defining one. Scouts will return in droves to track his progress; Ohio State students will pack the Schottenstein, no longer to plead for his loyalty but to witness its payoff.