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Horn pushes the tempo for Gamecocks
New coach wants to see lots of transition offense, pressing on defense
CommentsIt was mid-March, and USC athletics director Eric Hyman was knee-deep in a stressful coaching search. On this afternoon he was in Charleston, trying to squeeze in lunch with his family.
The restaurant’s TV was showing a Western Kentucky game, and Hyman’s eyes were glued to it.
The Hilltoppers were on their way to a win over Drake in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and Hyman was enthralled by the way coach Darrin Horn had his team playing.
Running and gunning. Full-court trapping defense. All the 3-point shots.
“It captivated me,” Hyman said.Less than two weeks later, Hyman introduced Horn as the Gamecocks’ new coach.
In five days, Gamecocks fans will see their new coach, and his system, on display for the first time.
BLUEGRASS BEGINNINGS
The origins of Horn’s system date to the mid-1990s, when Rick Pitino ran it with immense success at Kentucky.
Ralph Willard was a member of Pitino’s staff for three years and took the scheme to Western Kentucky when he became the team’s coach in 1990. There, he signed Horn, who scored more than 1,000 point from 1992-95.
Every coach puts his stamp on a system and caters it to his players. But the foundation remains the same:
On defense, the objective is to wear down opponents with constant pressure. The offense is predicated on scoring in transition and creating open 3-pointers in the half-court set.
It can be viewed as an equalizer for teams with lesser talent.
“It gave you the mind-set among your players that, no matter what the score, no matter who the opponent, that you would ultimately have the opportunity to win the game because you would wear them down,” Willard said.
The Hilltoppers aimed to dominate the final 10 minutes. Willard, now the coach at Holy Cross, said he could tell the system was workingwhen opposing players would be leaning over and grabbing their shorts in exhaustion during free throws.
As Horn entered coaching, Willard became his mentor. That resulted is scheme run by Horn that looks similar to what Kentucky used under Pitino. While Pitino, now at Louisville, has changed his ways a bit, plenty of other teams use variations of the system.
And USC will match up with a few of them this season.
WILLING LISTENERS
Billy Donovan was another Pitino disciple. Donovan took a version of the system to Florida and won national titles in 2006 and ‘07.Arkansas’ “40 minutes of hell,” developed under Nolan Richardson in the early 1990s, is another precursor. Clemson coach Oliver Purnell’s system employs aspects of it too, especially with the press.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, who emphasizes pressing the inbounds pass, said the systems being used by other SEC teams have started to resemble Donovan’s.
So if it’s so successful, why don’t even more teams use it? Because it’s not easy to run.
It requires depth, which USC might not have enough of this season. It calls for plenty of hard work in the offseason, especially in conditioning.
A coach also has to recruit for the system; players have to be fast, good shooters and hard workers.
“I think the essence of it is the mentality that you play with, more than the specific Xs and Os,” Horn said.
Horn appears to have inherited eager participants on his USC roster.
Even before Horn was hired, players were telling Hyman they wanted to play the style of ball Horn teaches. The consensus was they wanted a coach who would let them run and gun.
So when the search arrived at Horn, it was a case of his philosophy matching Hyman’s profile.
The players seem to fit Horn’s system, but Horn would prefer taller perimeter players and more depth.
The players are excited about the new fast-paced tempo.
“Players like to play it,” junior forward Dominique Archie said. “We trust him, so we’re going to play hard every day.”
But will it work at USC?
FAST START
The Gamecocks offered a preview of their new style in August during a four-game trip in Europe. Against weaker competition than they will face in the SEC, they went unbeaten and averaged 101.5 points a game.
SEC coaches think Horn’s system will work in the league.
“Oh, I think if you’ve got good players, it doesn’t matter how you play,” said Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings, whose team scrimmaged Western Kentucky a few years ago when Horn was the coach.
“I don’t think there’s one style that’s an end-all or can’t-win or can-win. I think you can play any way you want to if you’ve got very good players, and they’ve got very good players.”
USC has a core group of six-seven players and might have to rely on former walk-ons to provide minutes.
The Gamecocks do have fast players, including Devan Downey, one of the best point guards in the country. A few Gamecocks think they were at their best last year when they pressed and ran.
“We’re gonna play like this throughout the year,” Downey said. “It’s not gonna be play like this one game, then if you miss a few shots don’t do this anymore. (Horn’s) letting us know it’s his system, we’re gonna press, get out and go.
“That’s his system, that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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