Austin Thornton

Biography

Austin Thornton, a four-year letterwinner and co-captain for Michigan State’s men’s basketball program, enters his fifth season working with the Spartans and his second as an assistant coach. Thornton, who has spent more than 10 years with the Spartans including his playing career, returned to his alma mater in June 2021 as the team’s video coordinator. In that role, he helped aid the coaching staff in scouting reports, practice and game preparation, implementation of offensive and defensive strategies, along with assisting in player development. He has also been responsible for the hiring and training of MSU’s graduate assistants and student managers. In addition, Thornton has spearheaded Michigan State’s annual “Grind Week” for the last five years, which sees the return of many current NBA and professional players, as well as nearly 100 former men’s basketball players each year. He returned to MSU after spending the 2020-21 year as the head coach for both the freshman and varsity boys basketball teams at Sparta High School in Michigan. From 2017 to 2020, Thornton spent four years playing professional basketball overseas, making stops with teams in Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Hungary. Following his collegiate career, Thornton made his return to Michigan State in 2015 as a graduate assistant, spending two years on Head Coach Tom Izzo’s staff (2015-16 and 2016-17). As a graduate assistant, Thornton helped with player development, defensive scouting reports, on-campus rec