Thornton Resigns, Heads for Philippines

Bob Thornton has resigned as a Cal State Fullerton assistant basketball coach to accept a job coaching in a professional league in the Philippines, Titan Coach Bob Hawking said Wednesday.

Thornton, a former assistant at Chapman and Orange Coast College, was at Fullerton one season.

Thornton, 36, played at UC Irvine from 1981 to 1984 and and played for Philadelphia, Minnesota, Utah and Washington in the NBA.

Hawking also said freshman Josh Helbig has decided not to rejoin the team. Helbig, a 6-foot-5 guard-forward from Belleville, Ill., averaged 2.9 points.

In Titan baseball news, Jake Epstein, a first baseman at Missouri for three years, will transfer to Fullerton in the fall for his senior season, Coach George Horton said.

Epstein, who played at Mt. Carmel High in San Diego, is the son of former Angel Mike Epstein.