New Coach: Who's on your wish list?

[CoralSpringsBull]

I do not remember the name of either coach, but, how about the coach of Southern Illinois or the coach of Butler? Both schools are in mid-major basketball conferences and have met with much success.

[ProfessaBull]

Man I really would like to see DW make contact with Grant from VCU. It's real simple, pick up the phone, tell the guy what he needs to here, "Hey coach great season, we've been watching your career mature and we want to be part of that, good luck in the tournament and we'll be in touch!"

See how simple is that

[cygnus34]

DARRIN HORN

Biography                    

A program on the rise. That’s how many view Western Kentucky basketball under the direction of Darrin Horn as he enters his fourth season as the Hilltoppers’ head coach.

After all, WKU has increased both its overall and Sun Belt Conference victory totals in each of Horn’s first three years. With a career record of 60-30  which includes a 29-13 league mark  he has more wins during that span other than the legendary John Oldham (66 in his first three years as WKU’s mentor) and Ralph Willard (61), the coach who brought Horn to the Hill as a player in 1991.

The Toppers have advanced to postseason play in each of the last two years after Horn guided WKU to the National Invitation Tournament in 2005-06, where it would fall on the road to eventual champion South Carolina. The Hilltoppers posted a 23-8 mark, winning the SBC East Division for the first time since 2002-03 after compiling a 12-2 league record.

That came on the heels of a 22-9 finish his second season, when he led the Hilltoppers to an 88-80 victory over Kent State in the opening round of the NIT for the school’s first win in a national postseason tournament since he was a senior on the 1994-95 squad. The victory total was the second-highest for a coach in his second season on the Hill (Oldham guided WKU to a 25-3 mark in 1965-66) as WKU improved to 9-5 in the Sun Belt Conference and advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament.

In his first year as head coach on the Hill, Horn helped the Toppers to 15 wins and a second-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference East Division despite returning only one starter from the previous season.

Individually, several Toppers have been recognized not only on the conference but national level for their achievements at the end of the year. Anthony Winchester was an honorable mention All-American in 2005-06 while also earning all-district honors for the second straight season from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Courtney

Lee was a second-team NABC all-district selection as a sophomore.

WKU has had the Sun Belt Player of the Year in two of Horn’s first three seasons at the helm of the program, with Winchester claiming the honor last year and Mike Wells recognized following the 2003-04 campaign  Wells was also the Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Lee was the league’s 2005 Freshman of the Year, and Nigel Dixon was named the Newcomer of the Year the previous season.

All four individuals picked up first-team all-conference honors, with Winchester accomplishing the feat in each of his last two years.

Horn promised to run an up-tempo offense when hired in April 2003, and he has not failed to deliver on that vow. WKU ranked 23rd in the nation in scoring, 22nd in three-point field-goal percentage and 26th with 8.3 three-pointers per contest a year ago, one season after finishing 20th in the country in scoring offense. Actually, the Hilltoppers also finished 23rd nationally in rebounding margin and 31st in field-goal percentage last winter as well.

In fact, the Toppers led the SBC in scoring, field-goal percentage, rebounding margin and three-point field goals per game while finishing in the top three in the conference in four other statistical categories.

And, Horn is not afraid to challenge his squad. Not only have the Hilltoppers faced three different Southeastern Conference opponents (Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State) as well as Virginia out of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac 10’s Arizona in his first three years on the bench, but WKU played five teams that earned a berth in the 2006 NCAA Tournament last year. Last season’s schedule was the highest-ranked non-conference slate  it was judged the 28th toughest in the country  the Hilltoppers have ever faced.

Topper fans took notice of Horn’s efforts. Not only did WKU sell out four home games  the most in the regular season since the 2001-02 campaign  but it paced the Sun Belt with an average of just under 6,000 fans per contest (only one other league school even averaged 4,000) at E.A. Diddle Arena. Off the court, every player that has finished his eligibility has earned a degree from WKU.

“Darrin Horn has WKU basketball on course for sustained national prominence. Coach Horn is one of the best head coaches in the country given his knowledge of the game, integrity, personality and philosophy of play,†said Western Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig. “His youthfulness makes it very easy for him to connect with today’s high school stars. WKU could not have a better role model or leader for our program than our very own former basketball standout Darrin Horn.â€Â

Horn, now 33, lettered four years  starting the final three  to help lead the Hilltoppers to four consecutive 20-win seasons, two Sun Belt Conference championships and a pair of SBC Tournament titles. Horn was one of three players to assist Western in reaching national postseason play in four consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, as the Toppers qualified for the 1992 NIT and followed with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

In fact, he was a key member of the last Hilltopper team to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after WKU defeated Memphis State (and Anfernee “Penny†Hardaway) and second-seeded Seton Hall on the opening weekend of the 1993 event.

He was the 32nd player in school history to score 1,000 points, currently ranking 30th with 1,115 in 125 games. He also stands fifth with 139 steals, seventh with a 36.7 three-point field goal percentage and 10th after playing 3,084 minutes, and is the Hilltoppers’ all-time leader among four-year players after converting 80.8 percent from the free-throw line. Horn is one of seven players in school annals to make at least four three-point field goals in a game without a miss, and he stands seventh on the season record list after shooting 44.2 percent from three-point range his final year.

An all-Sun Belt selection as a senior in 1995, Horn averaged 12.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.8 assists per game as Western finished 27-4 (the second-best record in the country that year behind NCAA champion UCLA), including a 17-1 conference mark on the way to regular-season and tournament championships, with an NCAA first-round victory over

Michigan. He was also named WKU’s Athlete of the Year that season, and was voted third-team GTE Academic All-America.

Horn averaged just under 10 points per game the previous two years as the Toppers reached the NCAA Tournament. The team was 20-11 his junior season, advancing to the tournament after winning the conference championship with a 14-4 mark. As a sophomore, Western posted a 26-6 overall record, 14-4 in the SBC, while advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. And, the Hilltoppers concluded the 1992 season  Horn’s first year on the team  21-11 after earning an invite to the NIT.

In fact, Horn holds the distinction of being the only player in the school’s 86 years of basketball to score the team’s first points in each of his four seasons.

Not only does Horn have NCAA experience as a player, but he has also tasted success on the bench  he returned to the Hill after serving as an assistant coach at Marquette for four years, helping lead the school to its first NCAA Final Four since 1977 in his final season with the Golden Eagles.

His primary responsibilities at Marquette included serving as the recruiting coordinator along with game and practice preparation. With his help, two Parade All-Americans, three top 30 student-athletes and seven top 100 players committed to MU  his best incoming class was ranked 11th in the nation. That included recruiting and coaching

Dwyane Wade, who would go on to be the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and was just named the Most Valuable Player of last season’s NBA Finals after helping the Miami Heat to the franchise’s first league title, and Travis Diener, a second-round selection of the Orlando Magic who just completed his rookie season in the league.

Horn helped the Golden Eagles reach the 2003 Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, as they concluded the season 27-6 overall while ending Cincinnati’s seven-year reign as Conference USA champion after winning the league with a 14-2 mark. MU had a winning record in each of his four years on the staff, improving its league standing each season and posting an overall record of 83-41 during his tenure.

Horn was an assistant at Morehead State from 1997-99, and began his career in the coaching ranks as an assistant at WKU from 1995-97 following his graduation with a bachelor’s degree in allied language arts in ’95.

He started for three years at Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Ky., earning first-team all-state honors as a senior a year after collecting honorable mention accolades. Following his last year with the Commodores, Horn was selected to play in both the McDonald’s Derby City Festival All-America Classic and the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star

Game. He was also named Fayette County Player of the Year, area co-Player of the Year and was a three-time all-city pick. And, he was twice voted first-team academic all-state.

Off the court, Horn was part of the USO’s “Operation Hardwood III†over the summer, taking part in an eight-day tour of Japan in which he, along with Jim Calhoun (Connecticut), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Karl Hobbs (George Washington), Steve Lavin, Dave Leitao (Virginia) and John Thompson III (Georgetown) coached military players in a tournament while visiting military personnel in the region.

Horn, is married to the former Carla Walker, also a WKU alumnus. The couple have one daughter, Caroline (5), and one son, Walker (3).

The Horn File

Born: Dec. 24, 1972, Glasgow, Ky.

High School: Tates Creek, Lexington, Ky., 1991

HS Athletics: Basketball, guard, three letters (all-state, all-city)

College: Western Kentucky University, 1995 (BA, allied language arts)

College Athletics: Basketball, guard, four letters (all-Sun Belt

Conference, Academic All-America)

Coaching Experience:

Western Kentucky, assistant coach, 1995-97

Morehead State, assistant coach, 1997-99

Marquette, assistant coach, 1999-03

Western Kentucky, head coach, 2003-

Wife: Carla (Walker)

Children: One daughter, Caroline (5); one son, Walker (3).

[South_Florida_Flip]

John Pelphrey gets my vote.  He played under Pitino, coached under Donovan and is going a great job in his first head coaching position.  

DW, grab him before someone else does!

Forgot him. That would be a candidate I'd go after as well.

[Paisa el Toro]

I'd like either a big name that hasn't been around in recent coaching history such as a Steve Lavin or Rick Majerus. Anyone know why Majerus has been out of coaching for so long after taking Utah on some great trips to the NCAA's? Is it health issues or is he just making a crap-load of money as an ESPN analyst?

If not a big namer, I'd like to see Todd Lickliter or maybe Holy Cross's Ralph Willard (sp?).

[bullwark]

Travis Ford-Head Coach at UMass, like John Pelphrey, he is an ex-wildcat that played under Pitino.  He lead EKU to the dance a couple of years ago and is now at the Head Coach for the Minuteman, a team that beat UL this year.  Ford has emerged as one of the brightest, energetic and personable coaches in the nation. A decorated player at the University of Kentucky, Ford earned numerous accolades as the Wildcats' point guard from 1991-94. As a head coach, he led NAIA school Campbellsville University to a 67-31 record from 1997-2000 leading the Tigers to a National Tournament appearance in his final season.

At Eastern Kentucky, Ford guided the Colonels to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than 25 years as well as their first winning season (22-9 in 2004-05) in 11 years. Ford was riding a seven-game winning steak -- Eastern Kentucky's longest such streak in 40 years -- prior to losing to his alma mater, Kentucky, in the 2005 NCAA First Round, 72-64. He led the Colonels to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship, their first since 1979.

Ford used his first season at UMass to build the base for years to come. He re-energized all of Western Massachusetts as the Minutemen increased theirattendance numbers by 50 percent to its highest in five years.

Or, a hiddeen gem the Head Coach at FCGU, Dave Balza, they play an uptempo style and he has been known to be a very good recruiter.  His FGCU teams have recorded a combine 87-33 record (.725 winning percentage) in the first four years of competition.  In that time, the Eagles have averaged 79 points per game, have outscored the opposition by 12 points per game, and have won an average of 21.7 games per season.

Balza's squads have also excelled on the defensive end, holding the opposition to just over 40% from the field and forcing nearly 18 turnovers per contest. FGCU has also posted a rebounding margin of nearly 10 rebounds per game better than the opposition over a four-year span.  In 2004-05, FGCU posted the best rebounding margin in NCAA Division II (+10.2).

[Joe]

I'd like either a big name that hasn't been around in recent coaching history such as a Steve Lavin or Rick Majerus. Anyone know why Majerus has been out of coaching for so long after taking Utah on some great trips to the NCAA's? Is it health issues or is he just making a crap-load of money as an ESPN analyst?

If not a big namer, I'd like to see Todd Lickliter or maybe Holy Cross's Ralph Willard (sp?).

Guys like Lavin or Majerus would require over $1M in salary and I hope USF doens't run and pay a coach that, it could hurt all sports.

Lickliter is interesting, he's a Butler alum and will get a new contract offer from them. We;ll see.

[Bull Matrix]

I seem to recall that Lickliter pulled his name from consideration the last time USF was looking for a coach. Well, maybe he will be more interested now that USF is in the BIG EAST with more money to spend.

[The_Reaper]

My three... Lickliter, Lutz, Grant.  

[Bullhonkey]

Butler's Todd Lickliter