Sidelines

Update: Horn to be South Carolina coach

The State newspaper in Columbia is reporting that Lexington native Darrin Horn is the new head basketball coach at South Carolina.

According to the paper, Horn has agreed to be the new coach, and will be officially named at a board of regents meeting on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Horn, South Carolina on hold

Word out of South Carolina is that while Lexington native Darrin Horn could well be the Gamecocks new head basketball coach, there are no announcements scheduled for today.

Horn is at the top of South Carolina's wish list after leading Western Kentucky to a Sweet 16 finish in the NCAA Tournament. The Hilltoppers lost to UCLA in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday.

Unless there is an unseen contractual problem, can't imagine Horn not taking the job. Western Kentucky is a program with terrific basketball history, but this would be a move from a one-bid or two-bid league in the Sun Belt to a multiple-bid league in the SEC. And while Horn would be stepping into the same division as Billy Donovan, Bruce Pearl and Billy Gillispie, South Carolina boasts a relatively new arena and a state that traditionally produces good hoops talent.

Links:

• Western Kentucky athletics director plans to talk with Horn about USC job. [Greenville News]
• Schools mum on Horn hiring. [The State]
• Horn to interview with South Carolina. [Bowling Green Daily News]
• South Carolina will interview for WKU job. [Spartanburg Herald-Journal]
• USC to interview Horn. [Greenville News]
• South Carolina high on Horn. [Charleston Post-Courier]

Pitino in Elite 8 games

Heading into tonight's Louisville-North Carolina East Regional final, U of L coach Rick Pitino is 5-2 in Elite Eight games.

Here are his seven previous:

• 1987 - Providence 88, Georgetown 73
  
  • The No. 6 seed in the Southeast, Pitino's Providence team whipped Alabama by 21 in the Sweet 16 game, then came back to beat John Thompson and the Hoyas at Freedom Hall to earn an unlikely trip to the Final Four.

• 1992 - Duke 104, Kentucky 103 in overtime
  
  • You know, the greatest game ever. Christian Laettner hits the shot to win it in Philadelphia. WHAS' Terry Meiners used to have a great radio routine with a Kentucky fan following Laettner around just to boo him wherever he went.

• 1993 - Kentucky 106, Florida State 81
  • The Cats overwhelmed Pat Kennedy's team in Charlotte to earn Pitino his second trip to the Final Four, his first at Kentucky. In New Orleans, the Cats lost in overtime to Chris Weber and Michigan.

• 1995 - North Carolina 74, Kentucky 71
  • The Cats had rolled through the firsts three games of the tournament, winning by an average of 30 points per game. Birmingham was full of Kentucky fans confident of another trip to the Final Four. Didn't happen. That Rodrick Rhodes missed all seven of his three-point attempts and went 2-for-10 for the game didn't help.

• 1996 - Kentucky 83, Wake Forest 63
  • Pitino did one of his best prep jobs here, shutting down Wake Forest center Tim Duncan with a variety of double-downs and traps. Wake, coached by Dave Odom, was never really in the game, played in Minneapolis. Was nearly a UK-U of L Midwest Regional final as Wake Forest beat Louisville by only one point, 60-59, in the semifinals.

• 1997 - Kentucky 72, Utah 59
  • Pitino beat up on UK's poor nemesis Rick Majerus, as the Cats whipped the Utes in the West Regional final at San Jose. Pitino said yesterday that the team he was most proud of was this '97 team because of everything it went through to reach the Final Four, and ultimately the title game, where UK lost in overtime to Arizona.

• 2005 - Louisville 93, West Virginia 85 in overtime
  • Cards trailed by as many as 20 points, including 13 at the half, then rallied to force overtime in Albuquerque. This was Pitino's return to the Elite 8, and his fifth regional title. The coach became the first to lead three different teams to the Final Four.

U of L-North Carolina press conference highlights

Top 10 highlights from today's press conferences previewing tomorrow's Louisville-North Carolina East Region final:

• Rick Pitino on having to play top-seed North Carolina in Charlotte: "We understand that we have to play a road game to get there (to the Final Four). We had to play a road game at Georgetown to win the Big East championship and came up short." Told that Roy Williams doesn't consider the game a home game, Pitino joked, "Roy should get on a plane for once and play the game at Freedom Hall."

• Carolina writers were hitting hard on the David Padgett angle. Padgett signed with Kansas to play for Roy Williams. But Williams departed for North Carolina before Padgett arrived on campus. After playing one year for the Jayhawks, he transferred to Louisville.

• Pitino on UK equipment manager Bill Keightley sitting in the U of L section for Thursday night's win over Tennessee: "The You learn about the game of life when you do come back, because you learn guys like Bill Keightley, he's never going to like Louisville, it's just not in his makeup. But he understands what friendships and people are all about. And I really appreciate that, because guys like Billy Keightley, they're your friends for life, and a lot of guys I thought were my friends back in those days haven't been my friends. So I really appreciate his friendship."

• Pitino: "The team I'm most proud of is '97, because we lost guys and came back and made it to the finals."

• Both Pitino and Williams said they were well beyond their tiff in 1989-90 when Williams' Kansas team obliterated Pitino's Kentucky team 150-95 and the two exchanged heated words on the sideline. In fact, Williams said that in '92 or '93, Pitino got him on the famed Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

• Williams on Louisville's defense: "I wish I was good enough to play a full-court pressing game and then drop into a zone defense."

• Williams on Pitino: "I think Rick is one of the great, great coaches in the game, not just the college game."

• Williams discounted the crowd advantage by saying that North Carolina lost two home games in the Dean Dome this year when it had 21,000-plus rooting for the Heels.

• Williams praised sixth-man Danny Green, who has had to deal with his father being arrested and charged with being a participant in a drug ring. The elder Green plead to a lesser charge and is now out on parole.

• Juan Palacios on Pitino: "Every time I ask Coach P how long he's been coaching, he tells me something different."

U of L-Tennessee post-game notes

Update: As an alert e-mailer pointed out, in today's column, I wrote that the 60 points was Tennessee's lowest total of season. Not true. Vols scored 47 in two-point win at LSU this year.

News and notes from Louisville's 79-60 win over Tennessee:

• Rick Pitino is now 8-0 in Sweet 16 games. Here are the eight:
  • 1987 - Providence beat Alabama 103-82 in Louisville.
  • 1992 - Kentucky beat UMass 87-77 in Philadelphia.
  • 1993 - Kentucky beat Wake Forest 103-69 in Charlotte.
  • 1995 - Kentucky beat Arizona State 97-73 in Birmingham.
  • 1996 - Kentucky beat Utah 101-70 in Minneapolis.
  • 1997 - Kentucky beat St. Joe 83-68 in San Jose.
  • 2005 - Louisville beat Washington 93-79 in Albuquerque.
  • 2008 - Louisville beat Tennessee 79-60 in Charlotte.

• Tennessee is 0-5 in Sweet 16 games.

• Tennessee averaged 0.780 points per possession, the fifth U of L opponent in the last six games to be held to less than a point per possession.

• Tennessee entered the game averaging 1.127 points per possession.

• Louisville averaged 1.050 points per possession last night.

• Oklahoma shot 31.9 percent in its 30-point loss to Louisville last Sunday. Tennessee shot 33.9 percent last night.

• The 33.9 wasn't a season-low for the Vols. UT shot 31.7 at LSU on Feb. 9.

• Louisville has blocked 19 shots in its last two games. It blocked 12 against Oklahoma, and seven more last night.

• The Cards have committed 44 turnovers in their last two games. They committed 20 last night.

• Louisville made 23 of 30 free throws for 76.7 percent. That's the best percentage at the line since 79.2 percent against Marquette on Feb. 4. Louisville made just 14 of 33 free throws in its first two NCAA games.

• Earl Clark scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

• The sophomore scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots in the second half.

• Clark is averaging 15.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.

• Point guard Andre McGee, who scored nine of his 13 points in the first half, played a season-high 32 minutes.

• After making just two of 19 three-pointers in his last three games before the NCAA Tournament, Jerry Smith is eight of 15 on threes.

• Louisville shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half, making 14 of 21 shots. Only one of those 14 baskets (a Clark jumper from the right baseline) was not a layup or a bucket around the basket. The Cards took just two three-pointers the second half. Missed both.

• Tennessee's Chris Lofton made just seven of 33 shots for the NCAA Tournament.

• Louisville's three NCAA wins have come by an average of 22.3 points.

• The Cards prepared for the game by watching a tape of Pitino's 1996 Kentucky team beating Syracuse in the national championship game.

• In case you were wondering, the technical foul assessed against Louisville was on freshman Preston Knowles for taunting.

• At one point, Knowles was guarding Lofton, a matchup of 10th Region stars. Lofton played at Mason County. Knowles played at Clark County.

Louisville-Tennessee day-after links

Links from Louisville's 79-60 win over Tennessee last night:

• Louisville had a bumpy road to the Elite Eight. [Jeff Goodman]
• Tennessee's season ends with loss to Louisville. [Tennessean]
• Vols still a step below the elite. [David Climer]
• Rocky toppled: Volunteers exposed. [Mark Bradley]
• BitterSweet ending for Vols. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]
• Louisville too much to overcome. [John Adams]
• Loss only a speed-bump for the Vols. [Mike Strange]
• Will the real Louisville, and Earl Clark, please stand up. [Mike DeCourcy]
• No one is playing at a higher level than Louisville. [Grant Wahl]
• U of L energy, defense sap Vols. [espn.com]
• Louisville's defense stifles Tennessee. [Dick Jerardi]

Western's Horn reported to be atop South Carolina list

The State newspaper in Columbia is reporting this morning that Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn is believed to be the leading candidate for the open South Carolina head basketball coach's position.

The State says that the 35-year-old Horn has jumped to the top after Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel agreed to a contract extension and raise with his current employer. Capel was believed to be USC's top target to replace Dave Odom, who is retiring April 1. Ex-Cat Travis Ford, now at UMass, is also believed to be under consideration, but the paper reports that Horn is priority No. 1.

The former Tates Creek High School star who played under Ralph Willard at Western, led the Hilltoppers to a Sweet 16 finish this year. A No. 12 seed, Western lost to top-seed UCLA 88-78 out in Phoenix last night.

Both Horn and WKU athletics director Wood Selig told espn.com that the school has not been contacted by South Carolina. But we all know how these things work. Kentucky was contacted by Minnesota for permission to talk to Tubby Smith basically as the Gophers were flying into Lexington to pick up the Kentucky coach for a visit to Minneapolis.

A young, energetic coach whose teams play an uptempo brand of basketball, Horn could generate some needed excitement and interest in the Gamecocks program, which underperformed under Odom.

Will Lofton play Thursday?

Tennessee says yes. Despite wearing a protective boot on his left foot on Monday and missing practice on Tuesday, Chris Lofton will be good-to-go come Thursday when Tennessee meets Louisville in an East Regional semifinal game in Charlotte. So say the Vols.

In fact, Louisville coach Rick Pitino joked Thursday Tuesday that Lofton was probably "visiting Gisele," referencing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who was photographed in a walking boot on the way to girlfriend Gisele Bundchen's apartment the week before the Super Bowl. Brady played in the game, though the Pats lost to the New York Giants.

Most believe Lofton will play, as well, though no one knows how well. The SEC's all-time leading three-point shooter did not shoot the ball well in UT's two NCAA wins in Birmingham. He made just four-of-18 shots.

Links:

• Lofton longs for his shot at Louisville. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]
• Lofton out of boot, expected to play. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]
• Pitino disputes snubbing of Lofton. [Tennessean]
• Lofton misses practice with injured left foot. [Tennessean]

E-mailbag: UK basketball

From the inbox over the last few days:

Otto wrote about this season, "It was as good as could be expected since the sorry a-- coach in front of him has been draining UK for years and you reporters kept holding up for him, tubby should be arrested for impersonating a basketball coach and you guys still love him, you guys must be Louisville fans."

Jon from Shelbyville wrote, "We feel about Coach Gillispie the same way Joe Crawford does.  We will miss the 2 seniors, but we look forward to some great years at UK with Coach Gillispie.  On, on UK !!!!!!"

Cam wrote, "Frankly I wondered if he would be around next year.  Yes he turned the team around but actually it really only attained what was expected of it in pre-season when it was ranked in the top 25.  Good job but you have to wonder, did those brutal practices and playing minutes take a real physical toll?  I mean would a "kinder, gentler" coach like say Tubby still be playing if the team had Meeks and Patterson?  We can all be for tough love but I see a caution flag here....Ky. doesn't need a Bob Knight personality.  Let's hope having established his mark that Billy G will let up just a little in the future."

Jim wrote, "Just wanted to let you know how impressed I was with Coach at the Championship of the Sweet Sixteen. I was on the end of the floor where he was after the game signing autographs for the fans for what seemed like an eternity. He was smiling  shaking hands and signing for everyone but for most of all the KIDS! As a kid at heart and a UK fan I was proud to see him give his time for the fans of this state and not rush off and just try and get away. I know for all those little boys standing there in line it had to make their day to get to meet the Coach of UK. I know when I was their age I would of have love to have met Joe B. Hall as the dreams of just about every Kentucky kid to someday play at UK."

W.T. wrote, "Good column (Sunday). The phenomenon is called cognitive dissonance.  It's what occurs in fraternity hazing, the USMC, and other trials and tests that use pain and humiliation.  The "victims", if they survive, form an attachment with the one doing the controlling because they can't admit to themselves that they tolerated abuse and mistreatment but believe that it was worth it.  It can be effective  for the controlling one if you don't want independent thought, creativity, or others' opinions.

We have a Bobby Knight/Woody Hayes mentality at UK now.  He'll be worshiped as long as he produces but if he falters then the jackal pack will go after him. As long as he has a written agreement, you know he's looking to go elsewhere someday.  Plus, we know from his history that you can't take his word for anything. I question his ethics, integrity and respect for others.

BUT, I like to see his style of basketball."

Gene wrote, "It seems like you started the Gillespie column, got halfway through, and just decided to quit. With the competition out there for a NC, he's got a long way to go.

Paul from Florida wrote, "Reading your column on Billy Gillispie the thought came to mind that he sounds like Bob Knight -- only, thank goodness, without the crudeness."

Elwood wrote, "One of your better columns and the first time I have commented since our difference of opinions on Tubby but that is behind us now. I really believe we will reap the rewards down the road with our new coach."

R.C. posted this for the blog, but it fits better here, "John, with respect to your "Yin-Yang" article 3/23/09 I must yet again call you out. You persist in the trying to ride a horse to death thats already stinking, you just can't smell it. You are continually consistently negative about Billy G./UK. If you don't like them that much, get yourself a day job writing cheap greeting cards, and see how many you can sell. The history of this past UK basketball season is well documented twice over by any number of writers. The season is over and your rehash is old news. Get a life or a new subject. Quit wasting your boss's ink."

Bill from Ohio writes, "Mr. Clay may I suggest we call them the "Claw Back Cats" or should we save
the name now that the season is over? NA! They deserve to be remembered for all they endured and all they overcame!!  So let it fly if most agree it fits."

Kenny wrote, "On your article "Crawford saves best for last"  , keep up the great writing and go cats
We love joe and ramel. In billy g we trust."

Becky wrote, "John, I just wanted to commend you for a wonderful article (on Joe Crawford).  I'm sure you all hear this all the time, but sometimes I literally feel weary when I go to the LHL website because I am steeling myself for the next negative article.  Usually not from you, but regardless, it gets old after awhile.  This is a well-written and very appropriate article - both in tone and content - for the situation.  Crawford left everything he had out there, and I think every UK fan who has paid any attention to this season has witnessed his growth and his leadership."

Joan wrote, "I have been impatient during the basketball season with a number of your articles I considered negative.  However I appreciate the article about Crawford.  I was not a fan of Crawford before this season feeling he had not changed over the three year period prior to this year. A spoiled would be superstar is what I thought.

What he said in the article about Billy Gillispie, and watching him leave his heart on the floor this year makes me so proud of him and his coach.  It is exactly what Acie Law said about Billy.  I hope the media and fans give Billy a chance to excel, because in my mind he has already done the most important thing a coach and teacher can do.  Send his players into the "real" world knowing they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

I was at the 58 championship, and although living most of my adult life overseas I followed the cats sometimes sitting on rooftops with a shortwave radio!  This team and coach are number one in my heart."

George and Kathy wrote, "Thank you Joe and Ramel, It has been a long, long time since two players gave so much to UK, your heart and soul. You are winners. OH, only if we had you for another  year.
Joe, Ramel you will not be forgotten. Good luck in the NBA."

Angi wrote, "Can you encourage our Kentucky fans to write their thoughts to Joe and Ramal and let them know how they feel.  I have seen nothing but positve responses on message boards.  NOT ONE NEGATIVE THING!  Never in my years of watching Kentucky basketball have I ever seen Kentucky lose in the first round have a 18-13 season and have proud fans.  I didn't think it was possible.  Those two seniors made it possible.  I hope among hope that those two get there jerseys retired.  Five months ago I couldn't stand Joe Crawford.  Selfish little jerk was my opionion of him.  Today, he became my all time favorite Kentucky player.  The previous was Sam Bowie.  I think I speak for many on this and we need to all write to these players and thank them.  It's one thing to speak it on the message boards its another to tell them ourselves."

UK-Marquette the day after

Kentucky-Marquette links:

• Kentucky's rollercoaster season ends in fitting fashion. [Gene Wojciechowski]
• Balance tips scrappy Wildcats. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
• Marquette gets in the lane. [The Quad]
• Stanford-Marquette presents a quandry for Harbaugh. [San Jose Mercury-News]
• Hoops interest rate drops. [Bob Wolfley]
• For Wildcats, all remains is sweat and tears. [New York Times]
• Kentucky on the comeback trail. [Dick Vitale]
• UK far from being among college hoops elite. [Mark Kriegel]
• Billy Clyde's boys are done. [Dallas Morning News]
• McNeal, free throws lead Marquette over Kentucky. [Chicago Tribune]
• Two Stanford coaches caught in a bind. [Ray Ratto]