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Trio shapes Horn's career

His high schoolcoach, plus Willardand Crean, helpalong the way

Darrin Horn lead vert generic practice

USC men's basketball coach Darrin Horn

Erik Campos/ecampos@thestate.com

Written by SETH EMERSON

semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 11.09.08
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Coaches' advice

Coaches offer advice to first-year USC coach Darrin Horn:

Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings | “Strap it on, because it’s harder than you think it’s going to be. And I’ve already told Darrin that. It’s a hard league. ... It’s just eight or nine weeks of just put your head down and fight to survive. And it’s fun. It’s great competing against the best coaches and the best players and the best fans. But I tell you what, it’s not easy. It’s not for everybody, I can assure you that.”

Former USC coach Dave Odom | “I think it’s always smart to try to get the lay of the land early and then gradually put your own face and way of doing things on the program. Just personally, I’ve always felt that change for change’s sake isn’t always necessary or best. ... First impressions, in some ways, are lasting. I think the thing that you want to do is to make sure people know how serious you are and how committed you are to being successful.”

Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, who coached Horn at Western Kentucky | “Obviously, I think there’s going to be more media scrutiny and things like that. But let’s face it, he had that program (Western Kentucky) in the top 25. So just keep doing what you’re doing but understand that there will be a lot more external pressure on you. Even though at a place like Western, there’s such a passion for basketball there, and people love it so much, I don’t think there’s going to be that big a transition.”

College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins | “It’s comparable to my first year at the College of Charleston, where there’s some good players left over. I had a special point guard in Dante Draper, and, of course, Darrin has a special point guard in (Devan) Downey. Darrin’s really smart; he knows what he’s doing. I know he’s recruiting his butt off, which is really smart. And it’s not like the program is at rock bottom.”

Former USC coach Eddie Fogler | “The first year of taking over a program is a very difficult year. Whether you take over a lot of players coming back or few players coming back, it’s a very difficult year. You need to put in your foundation into the program in terms of your demands, your expectations. You can have your players buy into that. And then you need to have your players trust and respect you. And if that happens, you’ll have fun coaching your team, and winning and losing will take care of itself.”

— Seth Emerson

Seventeen years ago, Kentucky assistant basketball coaches Ralph Willard and Billy Donovan would hold regular pickup games. One afternoon, their competition was Willard’s teenage son Keith and Keith’s best friend, Darrin Horn.

The game got physical when the 30-something Willard posted up Horn. Willard gave Horn a bump. Two plays later, Horn posted up Willard. Horn put his chin to the ball and threw an elbow — giving Willard a black eye.

Willard was impressed.

“I decided right there, if I ever became a head coach in the next year, that was a kid I was gonna recruit,” Willard said.

That was in 1991, when Horn came under the tutelage of the three coaches who did the most to shape him into the man who is the new men’s coach at South Carolina.

There was Willard, who became the Western Kentucky coach shortly after the black eye. There was Tom Crean, the Hilltoppers assistant who successfully recruited Horn to the school. And there was Nolan Barger, Horn’s high school coach.

Those three “had the greatest influence in terms of forming my beliefs about this game,” Horn said.

THE OLD-SCHOOL COACH

Tates Creek High School is located in the shadow of basketball history, Lexington, Ky., the home of the Kentucky Wildcats. Barger was in the same vein as Adolph Rupp, a coach who expected things done the right way.

If a player missed preseason running drills, he was cut. Behind-the-back passes, even if they succeeded, were too showy for Barger.

“If you look up ‘old school’ in the dictionary, there’s a good chance coach Barger’s picture will come up,” Horn said.

Horn was a solid high school player recruited by Division I schools thanks to Barger’s emphasis on respecting the game and its fundamentals.

That is where Crean and Willard come in. Willard assigned Crean to be the lead recruiter for Horn, which started a long friendship.

“I wouldn’t be here without Tom Crean,” Horn said. “(He) pushed me to continue to grow and be better in everything that I did. It’s hard to get to this point, especially at my age, if you haven’t had some awful good training and been pushed. And no one’s better at it than Tom.”

A lot of that teaching came later at Marquette, when Crean and his assistant Horn got to the Final Four, led by Dwyane Wade. But before that, Horn had to experience the flip side of the game.

MOREHEAD TO MARQUETTE

When Horn’s playing days finished, he dived into coaching, working at Western Kentucky for two years as an assistant.

Then Kyle Macy, a former Kentucky player, was hired as coach at Morehead State. Macy knew Horn through the Kentucky coaching grapevine and hired him.

Things got off to a tough start. The Eagles went 3-23, then improved to 13-15 and a third-place finish in the conference.

Macy had his assistants do a little of everything, from writing scouting reports to making recruiting calls to attending fundraisers. Macy noticed Horn’s communication skills, especially when he was keeping in touch with recruits and their coaches.

“He’s always been very self-motivated,” said Macy, now a TV analyst for Kentucky games. “Even back then, I think he had a plan of what he wanted his career to do. In five years to be here, in five years to be there ... ”

Horn’s next step was in the works. Crean had followed Willard to Pittsburgh, gone to Michigan State as an assistant and was then hired as Marquette’s head coach. Initially, Crean hired Horn as a third assistant, but his duties changed after one season; Horn was recruiting, and coaching in practice.

Then there was Wade. Because Horn was young, he provided the future NBA star with intense competition in practice. Crean credits Horn for much of Wade’s development by challenging him in those sessions.

Those four seasons at Marquette proved invaluable to Horn and perhaps might be useful as makes the he transition to coaching in the SEC.

“What we helped Darrin see is the big picture of high-level, high-stakes basketball,” said Crean, now the coach at Indiana. “The business side of it, all the things that go into it, the administrative part of it, and how you help connect and build a fan base.”

Horn returned to his alma mater for his first head coaching job, staying at Western Kentucky for six seasons and leading the team to a Sweet 16 appearance last season. But bigger things remained.

ON TO SOUTH CAROLINA

Eddie Fogler and Horn knew each other via a mutual friend. They met a few years ago when Fogler, the former USC coach who now does TV analysis, worked a Western Kentucky game.

They remained in touch, and their paths crossed when USC hired Fogler as a consultant in its coaching search last winter.

Fogler was also involved in the Indiana coaching search, so he was also able to ask Crean about Horn. It confirmed what Fogler had seen watching Western Kentucky practice and play.

“He’s got all the right stuff,” Fogler said.

Crean thinks so, as well.

“Nothing prepares you other than being a head coach,” Crean said. “The fact Darrin was a head coach at Western, along with the experiences that he had of what shaped him, will help him be a force in the SEC for years to come.”

Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.

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