Former Duke guard Tyler Thornton participated in an interview with bluedevilstop.com. Thornton spent four years at Duke where he was a vocal and emotional leader and earned a selection as a team captain in the 2013-2014 season. In his time at Duke, Thornton played a large role in several big wins and hit a number of big shots. Below is the Q&A transcript from the interview as Tyler provides insight into his time at Duke.
Q: What made you want to commit to Duke? And were there any other schools you were heavily considering?
Tyler:
At the time that I made my commitment to Duke I was heavily considering Georgetown, Villanova, and Stanford as my final list of schools. Ultimately it came down to a few things for me when I made my decision to commit. The main one is obvious, having the opportunity to play for and learn from the best coach of all time. Next was I was given the unique opportunity to get a behind the scene look into the program through my relationship with Nolan Smith. And lastly I had an opportunity to play with one of my AAU teammates and best friends in Josh Hairston. Once he committed it definitely made the decision easier.
Q: Your buzzer beater against Kansas in the 2011 Maui Invitational Title Game remains one of the more memorable shots in Duke history. What do you remember about that play? Did you think the shot was good when it left your hands?
Tyler:
The Maui invitational was one of those places you dream of playing as a young kid. I remember creating my player on the NCAA basketball video games, and year after year choosing to play in the Maui Invitational. It was a surreal moment. Just to put things in context we had just come off beating Michigan St at the Garden for Coach K’s 903 game (where Coach K surpassed Bob Knight in career wins) which was a big moment in sports history. We came off that game and now had to uphold the undefeated record Duke had in the Maui Invitational. It was a super tough field that year, we beat a Kansas team that eventually made it to the NCAA championship game and lost to a super talented Kentucky team. The play before I hit the last second shot, I hit a corner 3. The corner 3 had been open the whole game on a particular continuity set we used run. I had the confidence to pull and take that shot, which went in during a crucial back and forth between Kansas. The play where I hit the last second heave was pretty much a broken play. We tried to use as much clock as possible, but towards the end of the shot clock our spacing was horrible. I vividly remember me and Andre almost running into each other and him jumping out of the way at the last second. At that point my mind was just thinking get the shot off, get enough ark under it to give it a chance, and kick my legs out like Reggie Miller to potentially draw a foul on a bad closeout. When it went I at the time my initial thoughts were wow that was lucky but lets lock in and get a stop. It didn’t really hit me of how big of a moment it was until the final buzzer.
Q: The 2010-2011 Duke team was incredible, even after the injury to Kyrie Irving. What was it like being on a team that was defending a National Title? And do you think the season would have played out any differently if Kyrie never got hurt?
Tyler:
It was a unique experience coming in that summer after the National Championship. Our staff was on the road with the USA basketball Redeem Team most of the summer as well. That team was loaded with talent, practice and workouts were always highly competitive. I do think if Ky never got hurt that team would have had a chance to go undefeated regular season with a chance to win the national championship. We had 7 NBA guys on that roster. As a freshman class we were close with the seniors (Nolan, Kyle, & Casey), those guys really took us under their wing a groomed us on and off the court.
Q: You improved each year from behind the three point line at Duke, raising your three point percentage 26.7% as a Freshman to 45.0% as a Senior. What was the secret to your continued improvement?
Tyler:
There was really no secret to the improvement other than getting up the reps. Getting on the gun machine and just getting good sharp reps in. I had to make the adjustment to the speed of the game at the college level. I had to learn how to be sharper with my shot mechanics as well as shot prep. But ultimately the improvement was a result of the reps before or after practice. Also I was around really good shooters most of my career such as Seth, Andre, Ryan, Quinn. With those guys having elite shooting abilities, I had to continue to work on my craft to keep up with them in order to make it out there on the floor.
Q: What is your favorite memory from your time Duke?
Tyler:
Outside out my shot vs Kansas in Maui, I would say my favorite memory would be when Austin hit the shot vs UNC. That game was such a tough battle with such a crazy ending. It’s always a good feeling to get a tough fought win on the road, especially vs UNC.
Q: Do you still try to watch as many Duke games as possible? And what are your early expectations for next year’s team?
Tyler:
I try to watch as many games as possible but with our schedule usually running simultaneously it can be tough. I talk to Nolan on a weekly basis and I’m excited for him to be officially be stepping into his coaching role. I think that they will have chance to be really good with the talented young guys that have coming in along with the guys they have returning. I know the expectation within that locker room will be to make another championship run.
Q: Are there any coaching lessons you took from Coach K that you have tried to implement into your own coaching philosophy at Howard?
Tyler:
I would say the biggest thing I took away from Coach K and my time at Duke was the challenge of being an everyday guy. The hardest thing to do is be consistent in what you do and doing it to the best of your ability everyday. I try to emphasize that with our guys daily with how we approach workouts, practices, and film. Those daily deposits add up over time, and this year as we enter year 3 those daily deposits will help us win more games.