David Thorpe from Scouts Inc. reports on this year's rookies as the season winds down. Marcus Thornton is listed in Thorpe's 'Moving Up' group.

He won't win Rookie of the Year and probably won't get first-team All-Rookie honors because he's averaging less than 24 minutes a game, but Thornton has been as impressive as any rookie over the past month and a half.

In February, he averaged 18.8 ppg, and in March, he's been even more productive, scoring 22.4 ppg on 50 percent shooting from 3 and the field overall while playing about 30 minutes a game. And he's not a scorer who rests on defense. Despite being an undersized defender, he's a pit bull on this side of the floor, too.

His PER of 17.54 is now second among all rookies, behind only No. 4 pick Tyreke Evans. No one is surprised at what Evans is doing, but everyone has to be shocked at how well Thornton is playing. Although the Hornets are losing more than they're winning, it's hard to pin much of the blame on the rookie from LSU

Also, Collison is 2nd in ESPN's latest rookie rankings, while Thornton is 6th.