North Carolina State University Athletics
Thornton Invited to Compete in Nike Desert Classic
4/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHOENIX, AZ -- After a solid performance in last week's Portsmouth Invitational, NC State's Damon Thornton is among the 28 players who have committed to play in the NIKE Desert Classic. The ninth annual event will take place May 1-5 at Wells Fargo Arena on the Arizona State University campus.
The tournament takes the nation's top college basketball seniors and divides them into four all-star squads that will participate in a week of practices and games under the guidance of NBA personnel. Games, which are open to the public, will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m.
The NIKE Desert Classic is the second of three major stops on the postseason schedule for collegians. The first was the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, Virginia, and the third is the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago.
Thornton finished his NC State career ranked seventh in school history in career field goal percentage at 54.7. He also ranks fourth in school history with 146 career blocks. This past season, Thornton led the Pack in rebounding with an average of 7.2 per game, becoming the first player in school history to lead his team in that category four times. Thornton played in 20 games his senior season, and averaged 6.9 points and 7.2 rebounds.
