Xavier University Athletics
Brian Thornton - Senior - Louisville, Ky.
11.23.05 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2005
As part of the new and improved athletics website at GOXAVIER.com, the Student Athlete of the Week Driven by Toyota will profile a different XU student-athlete each week. This feature will allow all Xavier supporters to learn a little more about the outstanding student athletes that attend Xavier University.
Brian Thornton, a senior forward on the men's basketball team, took some time after practice on Wednesday to answer a few questions. The senior from Louisville scored a game-high 20 points in XU's 45-point season-opening win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 19. Thornton and the Musketeers will be in action over the Thanksgiving holiday as XU travels to Indianapolis to take on the Purdue Boilermakers as part of The Wooden Tradition.
Question - You have already received your bachelor's degree so what is your focus now that you are a fifth-year senior?
Brian Thornton - Right now, I am taking classes in the MBA program which I actually began in the summer. I am enrolled in nine credit hours during the fall semester and I will take an additional nine credits in the spring. Following the spring semester, I will be just 12 credits short of completing the master's program. Depending on what happens with basketball will impact when I complete the program, but I am looking forward to finishing which will be a great accomplishment. I think this says a lot about Xavier and the kind of place it is and it will give me an opportunity to be successful in whatever I do. Having a master's degree is something that not everyone has and it will definitely put me in the best position to be successful in the long term.
Question - For those that have not heard about your excellent game on the links, explain how you began to play golf.
BT - I probably first picked up a golf club when I was 11 or 12 years old. My dad plays and he introduced me to the game at a young age. It is something I love to do during the summers and anytime I have free time. Golf takes my mind off of basketball when I need to and it is something I really enjoy. It is a sport that I can play for the rest of my life. Basketball has turned into a year-round sport and anytime you can get out there and play it is just you against the golf course.
Question - What are you looking forward to this weekend as you take part in The Wooden Tradition on Saturday?
BT - I played in Conseco Fieldhouse once before in high school when I played in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star game. It is exciting to play in a situation where you are playing in front of 19,000 people in an NBA arena against a Big Ten opponent which includes a future NBA player in Carl Landry. It is going to be a great opportunity for our team to show how much we worked this summer and this fall to put ourselves in a position to continue to succeed this season.
