KANSAS CITY, Mo. - William and Mary men's basketball sophomore Marcus Thornton became the third Tribe player in program history to be named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 10 First Team, the organization announced on Tuesday. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the student-athletes named all-district represent the finest basketball players across America. The 242 student-athletes, from 24 districts, are eligible for the NABC Coaches' Division I All‐America teams.

Thornton is the fourth Tribe player under head coach Tony Shaver to be named NABC All-District. Historically, the Upper Marlboro, Md., native is the third first-team all-district selection in school history, joining Randy Bracy (1998) and Adam Hess (2003 and 2004). Earlier this season, Thornton was named  Second-Team All-CAA becoming just the second sophomore in W&M annals to accomplish the feat.

A three-time CAA Player of the Week in 2012-13, Thornton ranked second in the CAA and 29th nationally at 18.8 points per game. His 565 points are the ninth most in a season in Tribe history. The 6-4 guard scored in double figures during all 30 contests, including 14 20-point performances, which ranked second in the CAA. Included in his scoring outputs was a career-high 32 points in the Tribe's 74-62 win at Old Dominion.

Thornton was one of the top shooters in the country as a sophomore. He led the CAA in both 3-pointers made (3.1) and 3-point percentage (43.5). Those numbers were also among the top 20 nationally, coming in 10th in 3-pointers made and 16th in percentage. His 3-pointers made per game topped the W&M school record as well. He produced eight games with five or more 3-pointers, including a career-high seven at Old Dominion. Those seven triples were the fourth-most in W&M history. Thornton also ranked second in the CAA in minutes played (36.3), third in free throw percentage (82.7), ninth in field goal percentage (44.0) and 12th in assists (2.8).

Along with Thornton, the Tribe returns its top four scorers from a team that produced the sixth-best point total in school history. In all, W&M returns 91.7 percent of its scoring (1892 of 2064), 84.8 percent of its rebounding (847 of 999), 79.9 percent of its assists (342 of 428), 84.3 percent of its 3-pointers made (188 of 223), 79.2 percent of its steals (122 of 154) and 97.8 percent of its blocked shots (89 of 91) from this season. Tribe returnees accounted for 84.4 percent of minutes played (5191 of 6150) in 2012-13, including 80 percent of its starts (120 of 150).

Located in Kansas City, Mo., the NABC was founded in 1927 by Forrest “Phog” Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.org.