With a receiving touchdown in the Class 8A state championship game, Mount Carmel wide receiver Marshaun Thornton capped off a memorable sophomore campaign last fall.
He finished with 48 catches for 881 yards and a team-leading 16 touchdowns as the Caravan won the title, but there was no rest for the weary.
For Thornton, it was onto the next sport as he jumped to basketball.
“I knew I was going to play basketball this year regardless,” Thornton said. “… I love basketball. I know going forward it’s going to be a decision (between basketball and football). Right now, I love it and want to keep playing for as long as I can.”
Thornton led Mount Carmel with 14 points on Feb. 6 as the Caravan lost a 56-54 heartbreaker to host St. Ignatius.
Wolfpack sophomore guard Amir Tucker hit a crazy, improbable fadeaway 3-pointer from the corner that banked in for the game-winner at the buzzer.
Freshman Ronald Johnson (13 points) and junior Logan Wessel (12 points) also chipped in for the Caravan (16-10, 4-3 Catholic League Blue through last week).
Freshman Da’Kylen Heard (10 points) had put Mt. Carmel up 54-53 with 2.5 seconds left with a short pull-up jumper at the other end.
Thornton, a 6-2 guard, said the Caravan wouldn’t dwell on the loss to the Wolfpack (24-4, 8-2).
“Just keep your heads high and be ready for our next game,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready to play. The coaches were proud of us. We’re proud of each other. It’s just a tough loss. We have to bounce back.”
Thornton scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth in a back-and-forth game.
As Thornton continues to show though, he’s not just an athletic football player going out for hoops. He’s a basketball player.
“I take pride in that,” Thornton said. “I’ve got the offers in football, but basketball is my first love. I love this.”
Thornton is one of the top recruits in Illinois for the Class of 2028. He currently has 25 Division I offers in football.
Coach Phil Segroves said Thornton could be a star in either sport.
“I felt pretty good Marshaun would play basketball this year,” Segroves said. “Marshaun could have 10 Division I offers for basketball if he wasn’t playing football. I’m very proud of him. I have a good feeling he’ll play (basketball) all four years.”
Thornton was on the varsity as a freshman, playing a supporting role on a roster led by seniors Grant Best and Cameron Thomas and junior Noah Mister, who has since transferred.
This year though, the spotlight has been on him to lead the way for a young, inexperienced Caravan roster.
“It’s just knowing I have to lead and score more,” Thornton said. “Everyone on the team can score. I feel like I’m a big-time player and those players make big-time plays. I had to score tonight when we needed it.”
In the closing seconds, Heard, a 6-5 freshman, cut across the court and into the lane for what looked like the game-winner before Tucker’s heroics at the buzzer.
Heard and Johnson have played key roles all season in their freshman years for Mt. Carmel.
“That shot, it means a lot to me,” Heard said. “A freshman stepping up big on the varsity level, helping put the team in position to win a game, we didn’t win, but that’s a good feeling. We just have to learn to get better and put in the work to put this game behind us.”