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| Doug Thorpe |
By virtue of being named the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Div. III Great Lakes District Player of the Year earlier in the week, The College of Wooster's Doug Thorpe gained a first-team spot on the coaches' organization's All-America Team, the NABC announced on Thursday. He is one of just eight nationwide to be a first-team All-American this season and only the fourth in the tradition-rich history of Wooster men's basketball to receive that recognition.
"That's an outstanding honor for Doug" commented head coach Steve Moore. "He certainly made a lot of progress during his career at Wooster and was a greatly improved player."
Thorpe's career spanned from seeing limited action as a freshman to being the team's fifth-leading scorer his sophomore season (6.3 ppg) to blossoming into one of the top offensive players in the Great Lakes the last two years. In 2013-14, the senior guard averaged career highs in almost every category – 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 0.9 steals.
Among his season highlights, Thorpe scored the final 10 points for the Fighting Scots of a 77-73 win over then-No. 5 ranked Wheaton (Ill.) College, and in their next outing, he had a game-high 21 during an 81-78 victory at No. 21 Marietta College. He played particularly well in late January and early February with five 20-point efforts during a six-game stretch, including a career-high 26 against Allegheny College, while making 47.8 percent of his 3-pointers (22-for-46).
As a team tri-captain, Thorpe helped lead Wooster to the North Coast Athletic Conference championship via a 16-2 record as well as the NCAC Tournament title before the Scots were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Div. III Championship. Overall, Wooster went 26-4.
Moore noted, "(Being a first-team All-American) is a fine honor for Doug, but also for his teammates because so often these honors are achieved because of team success."