Darrin Horn
From NCAA Wiki
| Darrin Horn | |
| |
| Sport | Basketball |
| College | South Carolina |
| Title(s) | Head Basketball Coach |
| Record | 111-48 .698% Winning Percentage |
| Years | 1st at South Carolina |
| Awards | |
| Championships | |
| History | |
| Western Kentucky (Asst.) 1995-97 Morehead State (Asst) 1997-99 Marquette (Asst.)1999-2003 Western Kentucky head coach 2003-08 South Carolina 2009-Present | |
Darrin Horn begins his first season as the head men's basketball coach at South Carolina. He came to Columbia after five highly-successful seasons as the head coach at Western Kentucky.
Under Horn, the Hilltoppers compiled a record of 111-48, a .698 winning percentage, including a 29-7 record and a Sun Belt title during the 2007-08 season. The 29 wins tied the school record, while he averaged over 22 wins per season during his five-year stint in Bowling Green. He took his latest squad to the "Sweet 16" as a No. 12 seed with wins over fifth-seeded Drake and No. 13 San Diego before their season came to an end in a 10-point loss to top-seed UCLA. He also led the Toppers to a pair of NIT appearances, including 2006 when they lost to South Carolina in the Colonial Center.
Known for his up-tempo offense and pressure defense, Horn's 2006-07 squad posted a 22-11 record, its third straight year of 20-or more wins. They were 12-6 in the Sun Belt with all six losses decided by five points or less. No Hilltopper head coach had led WKU to three straight years of 20 or more wins in his first four seasons until Horn accomplished the feat.
In 2005-06, 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, while reaching the championships game of the league tournament. That came on the heels of a 22-9 finish in 2004-05, including an opening-round victory in the NIT for the school's first post-season win in a national postseason tournament since he was a senior on the 1994-95 squad.
In his first season as the head coach on the Hill, Horn helped the Toppers to 15 wins and a second-place finish in the Sun Belt East Division despite returning only one starter.
Along with his record on the court, Horn's players have also been successful off it. Every player who completed his eligibility under Horn at WKU earned his degree.
Horn ranked 14th on the Basketball Times' list of top 40 Up-and-Coming Coaching entering the 2007-08 campaign.
Horn was a sophomore guard on the last Western Kentucky team to reach the Sweet 16 in 1993. A four-time letterwinner and three-year starter, Horn helped lead the Hilltoppers to four consecutive 20-win seasons, two Sun Belt Conference championships and a pair of SBC Tournament titles. He was one of three players to assist WKU 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. An All-Sun Belt selection as a senior, Horn was named WKU's Athlete of the Year that season and was voted third-team GTE Academic All-America.
Horn holds the distinction of being the only player in the school's 89 years of basketball history to score the team's first points in each of his four seasons.
After graduating from Western Kentucky in 1995, Horn began his coaching career at his alma mater, spending two seasons as a Hilltopper assistant coach. He worked for two years as an assistant coach at Morehead State, before joining the Marquette staff in 1999. He was credited with recruiting Dwyane Wade to the Golden Eagles and was on the bench for their Final Four season in 2002-03.
Horn joins a long list of former WKU coaches that have moved up to bigger programs including Gene Keady (Purdue), Clem Haskins (Minnesota), Ralph Willard (Pittsburgh) and Dennis Felton (Georgia).
