Gavin Thurman

20

Class: Sophomore Hometown: Wichita, Kan. High School: Heights High

Height / Weight: 6-6 / 223 Position: F

A prolific scorer with star potential, Thurman is a proven winner who should be a regular in the Bears' rotation as a true freshman ... Averaged 8.8 points per game and started once on the four-game summer tour of Costa Rica ... Scored in double figures twice on the foreign tour, was second on the club in field goals and posted 5.0 boards per outing.

High School: Was part of a 23-2 Kansas Class 6A championship team as a senior in 2011-12 for Coach Joe Auer at Heights High in Wichita ... Averaged 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a senior with 41 three pointers ... Was second-team all-city ... In the 2012 Kansas state tourney, Thurman averaged 13.0 points in five substate and state tournament games ... Team defeated Blue Valley North, 73-61, at Koch Arena in Wichita, in the state finals ... Was prep teammates with Kansas recruit Perry Ellis who was named national prep player of the year ... Heights had a 62-game winning streak -- a Kansas prep record -- snapped on 2/21/12 ... His senior season was highlighted with the following efforts: 14 points and 10 rebounds in 82-52 win against his former team, Southeast (1/31/12), notched 18 points and 12 rebounds in win over Wichita West (2/7/12), posted 19 points and 7 boards in win over Wichita Northwest (2/10/12), tallied 15 points in win over Bishop Carroll (2/14/12), Had a season-high 27 points in substate win over Junction City (2/29/12) with a 7-for-9 night from three-point range ... As a junior, he scored 19.8 points and collected 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest for Coach Carl Taylor at Southeast High School in Wichita ... Earned first-team all-state and all-city honors as a junior ... Led Golden Buffalo to a 13-9 season in 2010 and then transferred to Heights High School for his senior campaign ... Was also second-team all-city as a sophomore ... Rated as a 3-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN ... The AAU standout for KC Pump 'N Run was rated as the No. 4 recruit in the state of Kansas and received scholarship offers from Nevada, Wichita State, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado State ... Also recruited by Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Florida State and Texas A&M ... signed a National Letter of Intent to play at MSU during the early signing period on Nov. 9, 2011 ... Primary MSU recruiter was head coach Paul Lusk.

Personal: Gavin ChristopherThurman was born 7/6/94 in Wichita, Kan. ... Son of Gary and Cheryl Thurman of Wichita ... Has a brother, Gary, Jr. ... Undecided on academic major ... Plans to pursue a career in sports management ... Biggest sports thrill was winning the state championship as a senior.