Secret’s out: Collison and Thornton getting attention

Neither of the Hornets’ rookies appeared in NBA.com’s Rookie Rankings a week ago, but they both appear in the Top 10 this week; Collison at four and Thornton at six. The write-up for Thornton:

A week into the season pundits were proclaiming 37th pick DeJuan Blair the steal of the draft. Or was it 44th pick Chase Budinger? Well, we may have a “new” contender for the title, and his name is Marcus Thornton. After being inactive the first five games of the season, With Byron Scott’s firing in New Orleans, Thornton has seen a . In three games this week, the shooting guard out of LSU averaged 21.3 points in 28.0 minutes per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. Oh yeah, the Hornets have won three of their last four. Looks like a steal to me.

More praise for both guys in Dime Magazine. An excerpt:

Collison is averaging 14 points and 6.4 dimes over the past 5 games; including a 22 and 11 outburst Saturday against Atlanta and the best record in the League. After watching Collison dominate the Pac-10, despite having to share duties with Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday, I was skeptical whether he could make the leap from great collegian to solid pro. 15 games into the season and he looks to be one of the steals of the first round (Drafted 21st).

Lastly, HoopsWorld chimes in with applause for the rookies:

You would never guess that Marcus Thornton is leading all rookies in PER with a very solid 22.83, and to have his Hornets backcourt mate Darren Collison also in the top five of that category (18.18) is also pretty incredible. Collison has been able to step in for the injured Chris Paul and keep his team afloat, going 3-2 as the starting point guard, including wins over Phoenix and Atlanta (both the best teams in their respective conferences). He’s averaging 14 points and 6.4 assists during that five-game spread; pretty solid for a late first-round pick a lot of people criticized.

Grabbing Thornton in the second round, however, was highly lauded and his recent play is showing why. Not only are his PER numbers incredibly impressive, but he’s also fourth among rookie scorers with 13 points per game (despite being 14th amongst rookies in minutes). In the last three games he’s put up 21.3ppg, making him look quite a bit like the shooting guard New Orleans has long needed.