Darrin McKinley Horn (born December 24, 1972) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...

, having previously served as an assistant coach at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and a head coach for the

Division I (NCAA) NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

programs at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

and at the University of South Carolina.

Playing career

Born in Kentucky, Horn played guard for the 1991

KHSAA The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...

state runner-up

Tates Creek High School Tates Creek High School (TCHS) is a public school in Lexington, Kentucky. The school is one of six high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district. History Tates Creek High School was built, and founded in 1965 as the last of three sc ...

Commodores in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

for coach Nolan Barger. In college, Horn played for

Hilltoppers in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

from 1991 to 1995. He was a crowd favorite, hitting a game-winning three-pointer to defeat the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

on February 16, 1993, in

Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...

. While Horn played at WKU, the team made it to the NCAA tournament three times, defeating

Memphis State } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

(led by

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

) and

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

in 1993 before losing to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

; losing to the

in the first round in 1994; and defeating the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

before losing to the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

(led by Greg Ostertag) in 1995. Horn played for

Ralph Willard Ralph Daniel Willard (born March 28, 1946) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Western Kentucky University from 1990 to 1994, the University of Pittsburgh from 1994 to 1999, and the College of ...

and

Matt Kilcullen Matt Kilcullen (born October 31, 1954) is an American Director of Athletics at Mercy College, formerly college basketball coach and athletics administrator at the University of North Florida. He served as head coach of men's basketball at four sc ...

while at WKU.

Coaching career

Assistant coach

Horn served as an assistant coach from 1995 to 1997 at WKU for then-coach

before departing for

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ea ...

to serve under

Kyle Macy Kyle Paul Macy (born April 9, 1957) is an American basketball commentator. He played college basketball at Purdue University and the University of Kentucky, and spent seven years in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers; ...

for two seasons before departing for Marquette. He was an assistant coach at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

under

Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...

. That Marquette team was led by future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

players

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

and

Travis Diener Travis Lyle Diener ( ; born March 1, 1982) is an American-Italian former professional basketball player who last played for Vanoli Cremona in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He also holds Italian citizenship, and has played for the Italia ...

. Crean and Horn first crossed paths when Horn played at WKU and Crean was an assistant for the Hilltoppers under head coach

Head coach

After his tenure at Marquette, Horn was hired as the head coach at

to replace Dennis Felton, who left for the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

after three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to his hiring,

recommended Horn to the then-WKU athletic director Wood Selig. Horn compiled a record of 111–48 in five seasons at his alma mater, WKU. He led the Hilltoppers to the Sweet 16, the third round of the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament, a tournament run that included one of the most celebrated buzzer beaters in college basketball history, a

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two po ...

by Ty Rogers against

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. Their run ended with a 10-point loss to top-seeded

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. On April 1, 2008, Horn was hired as the new men's coach at the University of South Carolina, replacing

Dave Odom George David Odom (born October 9, 1942) is a retired American men's college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates, Wake Forest Demon Deacons and South Carolina Gamecocks. Playing career Odom began his caree ...

. On March 13, 2012, he was fired as head coach of the

Gamecocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

after going 60-63 in 4 seasons with only one postseason appearance. On April 23, 2019, Horn was hired as head coach by

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

replacing John Brannen who left to take the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

job.

Coaching style

Horn's teams are known for their up-tempo style of play, full-court trapping defense and conditioning. While at WKU, Horn's teams averaged 47% field goal accuracy and averaged approximately 77 points per game.

Personal life

Horn is married to Carla Walker Horn of Dickson, Tennessee. The couple have two children, Caroline and Walker.

Head coaching record

SourceDarrin Horn
. sports-reference.com

References

External links

Texas profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Darrin 1972 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Lexington, Kentucky College basketball announcers in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches Morehead State Eagles men's basketball coaches Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball coaches People from Glasgow, Kentucky Point guards Shooting guards South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Lexington, Kentucky Tates Creek High School alumni Texas Longhorns men's basketball coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players