Bruising forward Raynere Thornton, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound physical specimen out of Gordon State in Georgia, has committed to Tubby Smith and the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team. His committee took place while he was is on an official visit to Memphis. Thornton attended the Tigers football annual spring game at the Liberty Bowl now known as “Friday Night Stripes”
He is rated among the top 50 junior college prospects in the country and is built and carries himself like a “grown man” on the court.
The athletic Thornton held offers from Kansas State, Iowa State, and South Florida among others.
The commitment of Thornton will add to the Tigers current five man 2017 recruiting class which is headlined by First Team NJCAA All-American’s 6-foot-3 guard Kareem Brewton and 6-foot-8 forward Kyvon Davenport. Memphis has also landed three freshman including: 6-foot-4 Jamal Johnson, a first team All-State performer out of Birmingham, Alabama; David Nickelberry, a 6-foot-7 left-handed point forward out of Orlando, Florida; and Victor Enoh, a 6-foot-8 230-pound forward out of Georgia.
The Tigers are also hosting 6-foot-5 Hargrove Military Academy three-star guard/forward Clayton Hughes, who was originally a 2016 UCF commit. Hughes is a native of Jackson, TN where he was a 2016 Mr. Basketball Finalist before leaving the University School of Jackson for unspecified reasons. He averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.2 steals, while shooting 44 percent from the field as a senior.
Memphis is still waiting on word as to whether 6’2 First-Team All-American junior college guard Chris Darrington will commit to the Tigers. He is currently visiting his hometown of Toledo, Ohio this weekend and expected to make a decision in the coming days.
This caps an eventful weekend for the Tigers that started with former Tiger forwards Dedric and KJ Lawson announcing they would transfer to the University of Kansas.
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