Posted on Sun, Jul. 13, 2008

Uk basketball notebook

Basketball notebook: Horn sounds good to Downey

Jerry Tipton

Herald-Leader Staff Writer,

Jerry Tipton

Pickup games in a driveway told Ralph Willard that Darrin Horn knew how to play basketball.

Willard, who coached Horn at Western Kentucky, liked to talk about their one-on-one games before either got to Bowling Green. Willard was an assistant coach at Kentucky and Horn a player for Tates Creek High.

A well-placed elbow into his ribs — and then another, if necessary — told Willard that Horn wasn't just a player, he was a competitor.

Although he's yet to coach his first game for South Carolina, Horn already has made a similar impression on the Gamecocks.

Guard Devan Downey, who worked as a counselor at last week's LeBron James Skills Academy, brightened noticeably when asked about Horn, who left WKU to become South Carolina coach this spring.

”He's great,“ Downey said. ”He brings a whole lot of energy.“

Not that former South Carolina Coach Dave Odom or his teams lacked energy. But Horn brings a rejuvenation that comes with a new coach and a fresh start.

”A whole other mindset,“ Downey said. ”We're going to be a tough, physical team.“

Downey never paid much attention to Horn, who coached Western Kentucky for five seasons after serving as an assistant to Tom Crean at Marquette. But when Western scared UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, Downey watched and liked what he saw.

Although he excelled as a first-year player in the Southeastern Conference, Downey welcomed a new start. He felt he failed as a point guard even though he averaged 18.1 points in league games (third highest of any player), averaged 5.06 assists (second most) and set a single-season league record by averaging 3.2 steals.

”A point guard is judged by winning,“ he said. ”I think I underachieved as a winner.“

At 5-11, South Carolina failed to win more league games than it lost for the 10th straight season. The Gamecocks haven't played in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.

Throughout last season, Downey competed. His frustration spilled over in we-should-do-better comments to the media.

”It was hard,“ he said. ”We were young. We didn't do all the things I expected. This summer, we're focusing on all the things we did wrong.

”Honestly, I think I expected too much. We were too young. Now those freshmen are sophomores and those sophomores are juniors.

”The things I expected last year — going to the (NCAA) tournament, winning more games — I can expect now.“

Vitale's views

Some UK fans saw an inconsistency, at best, and, at worse, bald-faced bias.

Commentator Dick Vitale decried eighth-grader Michael Avery's commitment to Kentucky. In a blog posted on May 7, Vitale wrote, ”You have to wonder to what length people will go to recruit! ... Kentucky got a lot of headlines out of the Avery story. The bottom line is that this is not good for the game.“

Yet when Florida got a commitment from Austin Rivers, who just completed the ninth grade, Vitale cheered. In a blog dated July 10, he wrote, ”It's a win-win situation for the Gators, the Rivers family and the young man who gets to play for a coach that relates well to the modern-day athlete.“

Several UK fans wrote e-mail messages challenging the newspaper to ask Vitale about his bad-for-the-goose, good-for-the-gander view.

In a telephone call on Friday, Vitale said he opposed the recruitment of players prior to their high school junior seasons.

”I don't think it's healthy for anybody involved, whether it be Florida or Kentucky or anyone,“ he said.

Vitale questioned the impact a commitment can make on a young prospect. ”You wonder about the desire, the hunger, how much they're going to give their best knowing they have (a commitment) in the bank,“ he said.

As for calling Rivers' commitment a ”win-win,“ Vitale said he meant that any commitment, including Avery's, could potentially be a winning proposition for all involved.

But, Vitale added, ”I don't think it's good for college basketball when kids (so young) commit. Any of them. I don't care who it is.“

Vitale dismissed fan complaints as ”one or two people.“

”You can't please everybody,“ he said. ”I'm going to try to please my wife, and that's tough.“

Mr. Triple-Double

Only one SEC player recorded a triple-double last season. Who was he?

Here's a give-it-away hint: He had 10 blocks.

Of course, the answer is Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State. He had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks against Kentucky.

Varnado, who worked the LeBron James Skills Academy as a counselor, held up three fingers when asked how many games he blocked 10 shots.

He smiled when it was noted that 10 blocks should persuade an opponent to look for other scoring options.

”Oh, they're just trying to get me in foul trouble,“ he said.

True enough. Kentucky drove aggressively at Varnado. Most memorably, he blocked shots by UK's best drivers, Ramel Bradley and then Joe Crawford, on successive possessions. He also made life difficult for freshman big man Patrick Patterson (4-for-11, 10 points).

”I was real disciplined,“ said Varnado, who led the nation with an average of 4.6 blocks per game. ”Let them go up first and then go for it.

”It has to be natural ability. You can't practice blocking shots. It just comes naturally.“

Varnado plans to improve his scoring next season. With the departure of three of Mississippi State's four double-figure averages (Charles Rhodes with 17.4, Jamont Gordon 17.2 and Ben Hansbrough 10.5), the Bulldogs will need more scoring from Varnado.

”I played my role last season,“ he said. ”My role was to rebound and defend. It was up to the others to score.

”This year my coach is looking for me to score.“

Varnado is working this off-season on offense.

”I feel I can score,“ he said. ”People didn't see me score because I wasn't put in a position to score.“

Outlet pass

It's interesting to see what facet of basketball draws the interest of players. Usually it's scoring or shooting or dunking.

For big man prospect Daniel Orton, it's making the outlet pass.

”I like to outlet,“ he said. ”Get the ball out and push it. ... I'm good at making other guys look good. It's something I really pride myself on.“

To develop the skill, Orton said he'd pass a medicine ball with a coach standing about 15 feet away. Gradually, the coach moved farther away. Eventually, Orton and coach switched to a basketball and made full-court passes.

Orton, who lists UK among his options, said he thinks of former UCLA one-and-done Kevin Love as a role model. By the way, Love's father played in the NBA with the master outlet passer, former U of L All-American Wes Unseld.

Tiring time

Shawn Williams, a 6-7 wing from Duncanville, Texas, lists UK among his college choices. He also includes Arkansas, Texas, Baylor and UCLA.

Before making a decision, Williams (rated No. 64 in the class of 2009 by the Prep Stars recruiting service) said he wants to get off the summer basketball treadmill, take a deep breath and think about his college choice.

”I really don't enjoy it,“ he said of the recruiting/tryout summer system. ”As you get older, you get used to it. You play six games in two days, then it's off to the next camp. You get a little tired.“

Familiar names

Besides Devan Downey and Jarvis Varnado, one other SEC player served as a counselor at the LeBron James Skills Academy. He was Tennessee wing Tyler Smith.

Other familiar names on the list of counselors were Louisville wing Terrence Williams and Duke forward Kyle Singler.

Numerical order

Reader David Thomas had hoped that a year ending in ”8“ would see another national championship for Kentucky.

”I don't have to tell you that UK won championships in 1948, '58, '78 and '98,“ he wrote in an e-mail message during the Final Four in April.

”However, I find it interesting that the only other schools to win titles on the 8's — UCLA in 1968 and Kansas in 1988 — are in San Antonio this weekend.“

Of course, Kansas continued the numerical quirk by winning the championship this year.

(Thomas also noted that UCLA had won three championships in years ending in ”5:“ 1965, 1975 and 1995.)

Thomas, a native of Mayfield, is a 1974 graduate of Murray State. Now he's a proud member of a grand profession as a sportswriter for the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun.

While noting Kentucky's success in years ending in ”8,“ Thomas suggested that the perception of unrealistic UK fans is wrong.

”I really did not think UK had a realistic shot at a national title this year, just hoped,“ he wrote. ”I always hear how unrealistic UK fans are — they expect a national title every year. As a UK fan, I've never said it and have never known the first UK fan (and I know several) who have ever made the statement.“

Happy birthday

To Wallace ”Wah Wah“ Jones. He turns 82 on Monday.

Jones is one of two surviving members of UK's famed Fabulous Five, which in 1948 won the program's first NCAA Tournament championship.

”You don't know what's around the corner,“ he said. ”You just try to keep it straight.“

Jones, an All-America forward in basketball and all-SEC end in football, lives in Lexington. Diabetes limits his mobility.

”I go out every day,“ he said last week. ”I just don't like to walk too far.“

Because he'd rather not tackle the stairs at Rupp Arena, Jones does not attend many Kentucky home games. But, of course, he can keep up by watching on television.

Another sporting interest affords no suitable substitute.

”It just kills me that I can't play golf,“ Jones said. ”I can just tell I can't keep my balance.“

Once known as the best putter at the Lexington Country Club, Jones was in high demand on scramble teams.

This being an Olympic year brings back fond memories. The Fabulous Five led the U.S. to the 1948 gold medal at the London Olympics.

Fans seeking Olympic autographs still send requests to Jones' post office box, No. 27, the same number that adorned his uniform number.

Two daughters, Vicki and Ira, and son Wallace Jr., look in on Jones regularly. They'll be with him Sunday night for a birthday dinner.