Know Your Team: Joel Kindred & Tyler Thornton
The Halifax Hurricanes seem to be good at finding new talent that has been flying under the radar, as evidenced by the performances of two of their newcomers this season.
Joel Kindred
6’4
Guard
From Raleigh, North Carolina
Kindred played three seasons with NCAA Division 2 team the St Augustine’s Mighty Falcons. He was named 2012 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Rookie of the Year and named to three consecutive All-Conference teams. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest at the end of his tenure with the Falcons.
He then played for two years in Spain with Cantaires Tortosa, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 56% from three-point territory. He also has professional playing experience in Northern Cyprus and for Raleigh 919 in The Basketball Tournament.
2018 saw the start of his NBLC newcomer season with the Halifax Hurricanes - and it didn't take long for him to make a big impression. He quickly became part of the Hurricanes' starting lineup, and after 22 games played he had averaged 14.3 points per game and was among the league's top ten three-point shooters and in the top twenty for steals and scoring.
Tyler Thornton
6'2
Guard
From Silver Spring, Maryland
At a young age, Thornton set Gonzaga high school's record for wins and was named the Gatorade Washington DC Player of the Year in 2010. That same year, he began his four-year stint with the Duke Blue Devils.
In his junior year with Duke, as well as ranking tenth overall in the Atlantic Coast Conference for steals, he was a finalist for Sports Illustrated's College Athlete of the Year award. In his senior year he was made a team captain.
He appeared in four consecutive NCAA Division 1 tournaments, reaching the second round twice, the third round in 2011 and the final eight in 2013. His averages at the end of his Blue Devils career was 3.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game.
Thornton's professional career began in 2017 with the Yakima Sun Kings in North American Professional Basketball, with whom he won the inaugural league championship. He then moved on to Finland, first trying out for Tampere but going on to play for the Helsinki Seagulls.
After seventeen games with Helsinki (averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds), he joined the Halifax Hurricanes late in the 2018-19 NBLC season. After only three appearances, he averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds a game - signs that bode well for the remainder of his season.
Picture: Streeter Lecka
