July 2, 2009

FORT WORTH, Texas - Head men's basketball coach Jim Christian announced on Thursday that former Virginia Tech point guard Hank Thorns (Las Vegas, Nev. | Virginia Tech) will transfer to TCU.

The 5-9 point guard played a pair of seasons at Virginia Tech and will have to sit out the 2009-10 season at TCU because of NCAA transfer rules. The newly-added Frog will be eligible to play for the Purple and White as a junior during the 2010-11 campaign.

"We are extremely excited to have Hank joining our program," said Christian. "Hank possesses a lot of qualities that we look for in our point guards. He is very quick, sees the floor well and provides outstanding leadership. Playing in the ACC, he'll bring Division I experience to our team and will definitely help out our program in practices this season and in the lineup next season."

During his two-year career with the Hokies, Thorns dished out 185 assists - an average of 2.8 assists per game - in addition to setting the VTech freshman record with 113 assists during the 2007-08 season. Thorns appeared in 65 games for the Hokies where he earned a spot in the starting lineup on 15 occasions while averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

This past season, Thorns appeared in 30 games where he earned a spot in the starting lineup on three occasions. The 5-9 point guard finished the season ranked third on the team with 72 assists and sixth in steals with 17 to go along with a scoring average of 2.7 points per game.

Thorns collected a season-high 10 points on two occasions against Navy and Clemson while recording a career-high eight assists against ACC-foe Miami. The newly-added Frog also added a career-high seven rebounds against Gardner-Webb.

Thorns finished his rookie season with the Hokies with 113 assists, which broke the single-season freshman record for assists set by Bimbo Coles during the 1986-87 season. The VTech point guard finished sixth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio in addition to 10th in assists per game while earning 15 starts as a newcomer.

During his freshman campaign, Thorns scored a career-high 15 points against Florida State, including 8-of-12 from the free throw line, in 34 minutes of action. The 5-9 point guard recorded four double-digit scoring performances that season to go along with 17 contests of four or more assists.

Thorns becomes the seventh player to join the Frogs on the 2009-10 roster, joining Nikola Cerina (Vrsac, Serbia | Nikola Tesla S.S.), Cheick Kone (Mali, Africa | Howard College), Dernodo Eiland (Aurora, Ill. | Pratt C.C.), Greg Hill (Gary, Ind. | Midland College), Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas | Mississippi Elite Christian Academy) and Garlon Green (Missouri City, Texas | Hightower H.S.).

TCU Athletics Media Relations