In what I would consider pretty shocking news, Sindarius Thornwell - formerly of Lancaster, South Carolina and now attending Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia - has made two very important tweets in the last twenty-four hours:
Just had a good in home visit with coach frank martin visit went well
— sindarius thornwell (@MR_GO_GETIT_3) September 24, 2012
My top 2 is South Carolina and NC state
— sindarius thornwell (@MR_GO_GETIT_3) September 24, 2012
You may recall that when we profiled Sindarius on Saturday we thought that Thad Matta's Ohio State program was still very much in the mix - but apparently no longer. According to Phil Kornblut, we may well be the favorite - although Sindarius hasn't publicly declared a leader yet. He takes an official visit to NC State on the weekend of October 12th, and an official to USC on the weekend of October 19th.
Sindarius did watch the USC-MU football game on an unofficial visit this past weekend - Williams-Brice Stadium had such a fantastic atmosphere by all reports that it must have made a great impression.
You've got to hope that Frank Martin can seal the deal here over the Wolfpack. Too his credit, NCSU Coach Mark Gottfied is assembling a monstrous recruiting class in Raleigh - with five star PG Cat Barber and four star F Kyle Washington already on board; plus he can point to last year's Sweet Sixteen appearance.
If we have one advantage over NCSU, it's the recent news four star 2G Rodney Purvis has been cleared by the NCAA to play for State. Purvis' eligibility, combined with the fact that Gottfried is still trying to land 2G Torian Graham for the Spring, means that the Pack may already be too crowded at guard for Sindarius' taste - as Backing the Pack contributor tannofsteel84 writes:
NC State is still recruiting Sindarius Thornwell (SG) and Ishmail Wainright (SF) for the 2013 class. We are still in the mix for both of them but with Rodney Purvis and TJ Warren here its hard to imagine either one of those high talent guys sacrificing playing time to come to State.
Well, State is in an enviable position with so much talent coming to Raleigh, but we'll take any advantage we can get. The Gamecocks are in an different boat entirely - since neither of our 2012 guard recruits have appeared to qualify [Tarik Phillips and Thaddeus Hal] - and because Southern Miss transfer LaShay Page will only be with us one season - at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season there will only be three shooting guards returning to the team - seniors Brenton Williams and Brian Richardson, and junior Damien Leonard (I'm counting Bruce Ellington and Eric Smith as PG's). The only other 2G we're currently recruiting is BJ McKie's son Justin McKie.
In other words - if Sindarius commits - the 2 spot is his for the taking at Carolina - assuming he can beat the veterans, that is.
We're apparently also recruiting Thornwell's Oak Hill teammate, 6'6" SF Troy Williams of Hampton, Virginia - a consensus 4 star recruit too. While it would beyond-amazing to land both, we shouldn't hold our breath for Williams as he is keeping his options more open at this time.
Good luck Coach Martin! Come to Carolina, Sindarius!
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If you'd like to read more about South Carolina basketball check out some of our recent hoops stories:
South Carolina Basketball: Analyzing the 2012 Schedule Part 1
South Carolina Basketball: Analyzing the 2012 Schedule Part 2
South Carolina Basketball: Analyzing the 2012 Schedule Part 3
South Carolina Men's Basketball: Grading Frank Martin's Recruiting Class
South Carolina and Frank Martin Close Out Class with PF Michael Carrera
Gamecock Roundball: Coach Martin lands his first 2014 prospect - "That kid is real!"
Gamecock Roundball: LaShay Page Commits (for real, this time)