Ohio State Players React to Bruce Thornton’s Final Game, Legacy as Buckeyes’ All-Time Leading Scorer

Devin Royal, John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum shared emotional reflections on Thornton’s impact, both on and off the court, after his final game.

Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) hugs Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) Thursday, March 19, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first round game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There was the emotion everyone could see in the closing moments. And then there was everything that came after.

“I told him I love him, man,” Devin Royal said. “Off the court, on the court…we’re always dogs.”

That was the immediate reaction. The raw one. The kind that comes out when the final buzzer makes everything real. But for Ohio State, Bruce Thornton’s final game was never going to be defined by just one moment.

“We’re still brothers,” Royal said.

Thornton leaves as Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer, a record that reflects production, consistency and longevity at the highest level. But inside the locker room, the numbers only tell part of the story.

Jake Diebler didn’t hesitate when asked what he shared with Thornton after the game. “That I love him,” Diebler said. “He’ll always be a part of our family. He was a huge, huge reason for what we’ve built.”

That word, family, showed up again and again. It echoed throughout the locker room, not as a cliché, but as something lived out daily.

“He meant everything, especially to me,” John Mobley Jr. said. “Coming in as a freshman in the dorms, he took care of us. He had snacks in the pantry when we got there. He was driving us to practice. If I needed to work out, he’d drive me to the gym just to get some shots...He’s a great guy to have. He was a great guy for this program. He really showed what loyalty meant."

Loyalty looked different depending on who you asked. For Amare Bynum, it meant guidance and accountability.

“He meant a lot to me, just being my roommate,” Bynum said. “I asked him a lot of questions about how to be a leader. He told me, ‘Show up more and then talk more,’ and he showed me on the court how to really work.

“We worked out a couple times in the summer, and he showed me how to really work. I’ll put that work in this summer.”

It’s the same idea Bruce Thornton pointed to after the game when he called himself a “Buckeye for life,” a line that now carries even more weight.

It's not just in the way fans say it or programs promote it, but in the quiet moments that define a career. Those late-night conversations, extra workouts, rides to the gym, and the kind leadership that doesn’t show up in a box score.