On June 22, 2017, Sindarius Thornwell became the first former South Carolina player in 11 years to be selected in the NBA draft. Wednesday evening – some 293 days later – Thornwell’s rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers came to an end.
The Clippers were in playoff contention until this past weekend. Thornwell started 16 games and played in 73, making him the most used Gamecock in the league since Alex English appeared in 79 games for the Dallas Mavericks in 1990-91. (Brent Price, who transferred from South Carolina to Oklahoma in the middle of his college career, logged 81 games for the Washington Bullets in 1995-96.