By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

WILLIAMSBURG - Marcus Thornton knew the moment was coming and had prepared himself for it. But really, there's no way to imagine how it feels to see a banner with your jersey number unfurled from the rafters.
 
That's how it went Saturday afternoon when Thornton became the sixth men's basketball player at William & Mary to have his number retired. The leading scorer in program history was certainly deserving, but he was also humbled.
 
"It was a great moment," Thornton said afterward. "I've been looking forward to it, and it's been a long time coming. Just being able to be here and have the opportunity is surreal.
 
"I've been in that gym many times and looked up there, and it wasn't until later in my senior season I thought about having my jersey up there. To be here today and see it come full circle was great."
 
Sharing the honor with Thornton were his parents, Wayne and Debra; his brother, Andre; and his sister, Tasha. He was joined by his fiancé, Erin Hercules, a W&M alum. Eight former teammates were also on hand for the ceremony, which took place at halftime of the Tribe's Gold Rush win over Delaware in Kaplan Arena.
 
"I share so many memories and moments with each of those guys. You have teammates for a few years, but you have brothers for life."
 
With his number 3 in the rafters, Thornton joins Keith Cieplicki (1982-85), Bill Chambers (1951-53), Chet Giermak (1947-50), John Lowenhaupt (1975-78) and Jeff Cohen (1958-61) as men's basketball players to have their jersey retired.
 
Thornton is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,178 points. The record he broke, held by Giermak, stood for 65 years.
 
In 2015, Thornton became the Tribe's first (and, for now, only) Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. That same year, he was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 45th overall pick of the NBA Draft. That was the earliest a W&M player had been taken since Cohen, who was 23rd overall in 1961.
 
Thornton, 27, has seen the world in his professional career. He currently plays with Elan Chalon in France, where he is averaging 10.6 points and 2.0 assists a game. The team has been off since Tuesday and isn't scheduled to play again until Feb. 29. The team is 9-14.
 
"It's been up and down, but sometimes it gets like that over there," Thornton said. "You just have to stick with it and keep working. We'll see. We've still got some time to turn things around and make something happen."
 
After the draft, Thornton played with the Canton Charge and the Maine Red Claws in the NBA G League. He's also played professionally in Turkey, Italy, South Korea, and China.
 
"I've been around," he said. "I don't even mind planes anymore. I do hate the airport."
 
With plenty of memories, Thornton was asked his favorite.
 
"For sure, my buzzer beater at Drexel," he said, referring to a 68-66 win in 2014. "That was a special moment for me. And our (CAA) tournaments runs. And the 20-win season (in '15). We were able to come from my first two years to that, and that was great."
 
He also remembers his assist to Daniel Dixon for a game-winning 3-pointer against Hofstra in the 2015 CAA semifinals.
 
"For sure," he said. "I tell him all the time, I really wanted to shoot it, but he was open. I made the right play, and a great player took the shot."
 
Thornton said he will fly back to France Sunday.