DEKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University men's basketball head coach Mark Montgomery announced on Friday the signing of Dante Thorpe to join the Huskies for the 2017-18 season. Thorpe comes to NIU from Triton College in River Grove, Ill.

"We are excited to add Dante to our program," said Montgomery. "His addition gives us another dynamic player in the backcourt who can score and help our team. He comes from a winning culture at Triton and, having played two years of college basketball, has the ability to impact our team right away." 

This past season, Thorpe was named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II First Team All-American as he averaged 20.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. A 6-foot-4 guard, Thorpe shot 55.6 percent from the field, and 78.1 percent from the free-throw line, leading the Trojans to a 30-3 overall record while also earning North Central Community College Conference Player of the Year honors.

As a freshman in 2015-16, the Washington, D.C., native averaged 11.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as Triton posted a 34-3 record and reached the NJCAA Division II National Championship Game. 

In his two seasons at Triton, Thorpe scored 1,040 points, becoming the seventh leading scorer in school history. He will come to NIU with two seasons of eligibility remaining. 

Thorpe is NIU's sixth signee for the 2017-18 season, joining Marlo Brown (Detroit, Mich./DME Academy), Safir Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Prep), Tommy Demogerontas (Orland Park, Ill./Moraine Valley Community College), Owen Hamilton (Prescott, Wis./Prescott) and Rod Henry-Hayes (Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton Township).