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Ben Thornbrue commits to Bradley

Watched his whole game from Friday night - appended this to his bio:

https://bubraves2006.substack.com/p/2026-commit-ben-thornbrue?r=zd008

He's an interesting player - a little unique in that he hovers around the perimeter but does most of his damage on the inside. I look forward to watching more of him as the season goes on.

He had 19 points in their game this afternoon, so he's getting better each game.
 
Thanks '06...

College of Southern Idaho wins the Laramie Tournament, going 2-0 in the tourney and 7-0 overall.
Their closest game was a 9-point victory and average margin of victory is 17 pts.

from the box scores...
Friday they beat Western Nebraska 99-81, Thornbrue with 12 pts
Saturday they beat Laramie County 79-63, Thornbrue with 19 pts on 6-11, 1-2 from 3-pt, 3 reb, 3 blocks
 
houstonbrave said:
Hopefully Ben becomes as good as our prior recruit from the College of Southern Idaho.
Click to expand...
Yes! For those who don't know remember, David Thirdkill (1979-1982) was from the College of Southern Idaho. After his career at Bradley, he was a 1st round draft pick (15th overall) by the Phoenix Suns in 1982, and played for the Suns, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics in his NBA career. He played an important role for the Celtics as a defensive specialist, and sometimes backup for Larry Bird or Kevin McHale, and won an NBA Championship with the 1985-86 Celtics. After the NBA, he had a long career overseas (see links below).
After retiring from professional basketball in 1996, David returned to St. Louis and became somewhat of a recluse. Ken Kavanagh tried to get him to return to Bradley a couple times. The first time was to place Thirdkill into the Bradley Hall of Fame in 1998. David is in the HOF as part of the 1981-82 team, but is not a member as an individual (maybe it's time to correct that!). Kavanagh tried again to reach Thirdkill to get him to Peoria to celebrate Bradley's 15-member "Team of the Century" in 2003, which included Thirdkill. However, Kavanagh was unable to contact him and relatives said he did not wish to be contacted. But a few years later, David attended a couple Bradley games in St. Louis during the MVC Tournament and met with fans and was interviewed by Dave Reynolds and Dave Snell (see link below). I had a nice chat with David at the Bradley hotel and he looked great and said he was doing well.
Here is a pretty good summary of David Thirdkill's career- https://www.celticslife.com/2016/08/what-hell-happened-todavid-thirdkill.html
Wikipedia page- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Thirdkill
PJ Star article (subscription needed)- https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports...03/04/reynolds-sheriff-is-back-in/32436375007
 
College of Southern Idaho improves to 9-0 on the season with two wins in their own tournament, the Idaho Central Credit Union Invitational.
They beat Northeastern Junior College of Sterling, Colorado on Friday 95-72. Ben Thornbrue played only 18 minutes, was 4-6 from the field, and 2-3 from three for 12 points, and 5 rebounds.
Recap- https://athletics.csi.edu/news/2025...er-keslers-hot-shooting-leads-csi-to-win.aspx
Box score- https://athletics.csi.edu/sports/me...026/northeastern-junior-college/boxscore/6577

Then tonight (Saturday, Nov. 29) CSI beat South Puget Sound Community College 108-61 for the tournament championship. Thornbrue played 23 minutes and had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Recap- https://athletics.csi.edu/news/2025/11/29/csi-mens-basketball-dominates-south-puget-sound.aspx
Box score- https://athletics.csi.edu/sports/me...h-puget-sound-community-college/boxscore/6626

For the season, Thornbrue has played in 6 games (he missed the first 3 games) and is averaging 12.3 ppg and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
12/9/25 Update on Bradley commit Ben Thornbrue...
College of Southern Idaho is now 10-1 after suffering their first loss of the season this past Saturday (Dec. 6). They lost at home to a very good Odessa College of Texas team 66-73.
Ben Thornbrue had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks-
Box score- https://athletics.csi.edu/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-2026/odessa-college/boxscore/6627

In the weekly NJCAA Rankings that came out Monday (Dec. 8), CSI dropped a few spots to #14 in the country. Odessa, which was #16, improved to #12 with their win.

Through 8 games (he missed the team's first 3 games) Ben is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-leading 7.1 rpg.
Stats (click on the IDIVIDUAL tab to see Thornbrue's stats)- https://athletics.csi.edu/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2025-2026

Their next two games are Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12 & 13) in a tournament at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.
Then they play Monday, Dec. 15 at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona.
Schedule- https://athletics.csi.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
I wonder if they fly or bus? Prescott, Arizona is 840 miles from Twin Falls, Idaho, and according to Google, that's a 13½ hour drive. :oops:
Then for Monday's game, Thatcher, AZ is located in the far southeastern part of Arizona, 250 miles southeast of Prescott, an additional 5 hour drive.
The return trip to Twin Falls is nearly 1,000 miles, and a 15½ drive. Fortunately, their following game is not until Dec. 30
 
Thornbrue is a JUCO player - I didn't know that! I love when we get JUCOs. Need more of them, but with the transfer portal, that's a main source for upper-classmen.
This kid looks very athletic and has a nice shot from outside. He has the size and athleticism of a mid-major force in the paint.
Looks like a typical UNI player in their hayday.

Good get it appears!
 
Last edited:
Da Coach said:
Yes! For those who don't know remember, David Thirdkill (1979-1982) was from the College of Southern Idaho. After his career at Bradley, he was a 1st round draft pick (15th overall) by the Phoenix Suns in 1982, and played for the Suns, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics in his NBA career. He played an important role for the Celtics as a defensive specialist, and sometimes backup for Larry Bird or Kevin McHale, and won an NBA Championship with the 1985-86 Celtics. After the NBA, he had a long career overseas (see links below).
After retiring from professional basketball in 1996, David returned to St. Louis and became somewhat of a recluse. Ken Kavanagh tried to get him to return to Bradley a couple times. The first time was to place Thirdkill into the Bradley Hall of Fame in 1998. David is in the HOF as part of the 1981-82 team, but is not a member as an individual (maybe it's time to correct that!). Kavanagh tried again to reach Thirdkill to get him to Peoria to celebrate Bradley's 15-member "Team of the Century" in 2003, which included Thirdkill. However, Kavanagh was unable to contact him and relatives said he did not wish to be contacted. But a few years later, David attended a couple Bradley games in St. Louis during the MVC Tournament and met with fans and was interviewed by Dave Reynolds and Dave Snell (see link below). I had a nice chat with David at the Bradley hotel and he looked great and said he was doing well.
Here is a pretty good summary of David Thirdkill's career- https://www.celticslife.com/2016/08/what-hell-happened-todavid-thirdkill.html
Wikipedia page- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Thirdkill
PJ Star article (subscription needed)- https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports...03/04/reynolds-sheriff-is-back-in/32436375007
Click to expand...
My son attended CBC high school in St Louis. His senior year the basketball team was coached by Justin Tatum, father of Jayson and friend of Larry Hughes. My son was applying at Duke, so during parent teacher conferences I wandered over and started chatting with him since his son was there at the time. Great guy, took time to talk. I mentioned that I attended Bradley and saw David Thirdkill play. He said he knew the Thirdkills, well known family in St Louis basketball. I told coach that if he had a chance to let Mr Thirdkill know that Bradley fans remembered him, and we were there for him if he needed anything. Next semester I saw coach again and chatted a bit. He remembered me, said he had some communication with Mr Thirdkill, and he said he appreciated the outreach but he was doing fine. Coach asked if I wanted to try to get in direct contact, I told him no, I'll respect his wish for privacy. Haven't heard anything more about him, wish him (and all of our former players) well.
 
College of Southern Idaho won two games in the Yavapai College Tournament to improve to 12-1.
They beat Yavapai College Friday, 69-55, and today they beat Central Arizona College 74-50.
athletics.csi.edu

CSI Men's Basketball wins back-to-back games - College of Southern Idaho Athletics

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - The 14th-ranked College of Southern Idaho Men's Basketball improved to 12-1 with a 74-50 win over Central Arizona in the Yavapai College Tournament.
athletics.csi.edu athletics.csi.edu
Ben Thornbrue had 9 points in today's game.
They play Monday against Eastern Arizona College.
 
Da Coach said:
....
They play Monday against Eastern Arizona College.
Click to expand...
College of Southern Idaho won their game earlier this week over Eastern Arizona College 66-54.

Men's Basketball vs Eastern Arizona College on 12/15/2025 - Box Score - College of Southern Idaho Athletics

The official box score of Men's Basketball vs Eastern Arizona College on 12/15/2025
athletics.csi.edu athletics.csi.edu

Ben Thornbrue was the games leading scorer with 15 points. He also had 4 rebounds. CSI is now 13-1.
Thornbrue is averaging 12.4 ppg and a team-leading 6.6 rpg.

College of Southern Idaho was ranked #13 in the NJCAA weekly rankings that came out Monday, Dec. 15-
www.njcaa.org

NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings

NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings
www.njcaa.org www.njcaa.org
 
Da Coach said:
College of Southern Idaho won their game earlier this week over Eastern Arizona College 66-54.

Men's Basketball vs Eastern Arizona College on 12/15/2025 - Box Score - College of Southern Idaho Athletics

The official box score of Men's Basketball vs Eastern Arizona College on 12/15/2025
athletics.csi.edu athletics.csi.edu

Ben Thornbrue was the games leading scorer with 15 points. He also had 4 rebounds. CSI is now 13-1.
Thornbrue is averaging 12.4 ppg and a team-leading 6.6 rpg.

College of Southern Idaho was ranked #13 in the NJCAA weekly rankings that came out Monday, Dec. 15-
www.njcaa.org

NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings

NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings
www.njcaa.org www.njcaa.org
Click to expand...
I am hoping ESPN plus will carry some of there games so I can watch him play
 
I don't think ESPN does any junior college games. If they do, it must be pretty rare, since I have never seen one.
 
Da Coach said:
College of Southern Idaho (13-1) is playing their first game since Dec. 15. They are hosting Treasure Valley Community College from Ontario, Oregon (3-7).
Click to expand...
Final score- College of Southern Idaho 105 Treasure Valley CC 60
Stats- https://athletics.csi.edu/sidearmstats/mbball/media

Ben Thornbrue had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. CSI improves to 14-1. He is now averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg.
They play again Saturday, Jan. 3, at North Idaho College (9-5).
 
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