He Understands His Role and Finds a Place in Jazz Band : NBA: Former UC Irvine and Mission Viejo High player Bob Thornton fills big-man need for Utah in playoffs

It has been said that good and bad breaks have a way of evening out over time. Bob Thornton might turn out to be an example of this law of averages.

The former UC Irvine, Saddleback College and Mission Viejo High player is now with the Utah Jazz, who hold a 2-1 lead over the Clippers in their best-of-five NBA Western Conference quarterfinal series, which has been delayed because of violence in L.A. and will resume Sunday afternoon in the Anaheim Convention Center.

This has been a pleasant turn of events for the 6-foot-10 center/forward, whose willingness to be physical has helped him become the quintessential role player and, as a result, a seven-year NBA veteran.

Thornton’s 1990-91 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves was ruined when he broke his left wrist during the team’s 13th game of the season.

“I was in a cast for 3 1/2 months and rehabbing after that,” Thornton said this week. “By the time I was ready to come back, the season was over.”

After negotiations broke down about a return to Minnesota or another NBA team and a stint coaching at Orange Coast College, Thornton headed to Mens Sana Siena of the Italian League.

When that team failed to qualify for the playoffs, Thornton came home to Irvine. Three days later, after playing at the Monarch Beach Golf Course, he got a call from his agent, who asked if he would be interested in joining the Jazz.

The NBA Midwest Division champions needed a big man after 6-10 rookie center Isaac Austin went down April 11 with a stress fracture in his foot. Thornton quickly agreed to Utah’s offer and played the next night, April 15.

“It’s exciting for me to be in this situation,” said Thornton, 29. “It’s the best feeling to be on a playoff team that has the possibility of going real far. This is great exposure for me.”

Thornton felt he had to prove himself again this season.

“Being injured last year kind of hurt because people were questioning whether or not I could come back from the wrist injury,” he said.

Never known as a scorer at any level, Thornton said he averaged about 17 points in Italy.

“It was a good experience,” Thornton said. “It was a chance for me to show some people that I could score and do some other things that I haven’t had a chance to do over here. Any doubts that people might have had about me were settled.”

The Jazz were in a bind when Austin was injured. Scott Layden, Utah’s director of player personnel, said, “it’s impossible” to find a talented, veteran big man in April.

“One of the strengths of the (Continental Basketball Assn.) is their big guards and small forwards, so there’s not many big guys around,” Layden said. “But we got a lot of good reports on (Thornton) on his past experience and he played a lot of good games against us. We really lucked out to get a guy of his experience at that time of the year.”

Thornton has seen limited playing time during his tenure with the Jazz. He scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in six minutes during two regular-season games. Thornton has played in all three games of this series, missing his only shot in five minutes of action.

“He’s done fine,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan said. “We tried to explain to him what the situation was and he knew there might not be a lot of opportunities, but one thing about Bob is that he’s kept himself available and in shape where he can get out there and give us a couple of minutes if we need him.”

Thornton might be one of the unlikeliest players in the NBA. Although he was the South Coast League’s most valuable player as a Mission Viejo High senior in 1980, he had doubted he would play Division I. Thornton then played a season at Saddleback College, but then-Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan was more interested in teammate Curtis Crossley. It took another teammate, Brian Mulligan, Bill’s son, to interest his father in Thornton.

When Thornton became an Anteater during the 1981-82 season, much of his time was spent being the subject of verbal abuse from Bill Mulligan and dominated in practice by Kevin Magee, an eventual first-team All-American that season.

Although stressing he indeed likes Thornton, Bill Mulligan was still critical during an interview Friday.

“I’m still on him every time I see him, telling him what a terrible jump shooter he is,” said Mulligan, now the coach at Irvine Valley College. “One thing he has is a tendency to gripe about lack of playing time. If he could overcome that, he could stay in the league longer.”

As a junior, Thornton began coming into his own, and as a senior in 1983-84, he averaged 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He attracted the attention of the New York Knicks, who chose him in the fourth round of the 1984 draft.

Instead, Thornton signed with Caja Madrid of the Spanish National League, where his limited offensive prowess resulted in him being frozen out by his teammates by mid-season.

Invited to the Knicks rookie camp in 1985, he established the highest shooting percentage (71%) ever by a Knick newcomer and led the rookies in rebounds. He ended up making the team, averaging 4.7 points in 71 games, figures he has yet to match in the NBA.

Released by New York on Dec. 16, 1987, he was signed by Philadelphia three days later, remaining with the 76ers until being dealt to Minnesota for a 1991 second-round draft choice on Nov. 10, 1990.

“What he’s done is unbelievable,” Bill Mulligan said. “He’s a hard worker and has come a long way.”