‘It’s a brotherhood here.’ UK basketball’s Walker Horn, Zach Tow provide value
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sparsely-used Kentucky basketball players Walker Horn and Zach Tow still provide value.
- Horn and Tow both initially joined the UK program as walk-on players.
- Horn began his UK career under John Calipari, while Tow joined the team under Mark Pope.
In the spirit of the season, you’ve likely heard plenty of gratitude expressed by members of the Kentucky basketball program in recent days.
Head coach Mark Pope thanking Big Blue Nation for its continued support through a turbulent start to the season. UK players expressing their appreciation for the fans who have flocked to Rupp Arena to support the Wildcats despite early-season setbacks against Louisville and Michigan State.
Simultaneously beneath the surface and right in plain sight, there are two unheralded Kentucky players who rarely hear much praise.
Seniors guard Walker Horn and forward Zach Tow are the last of their kind at UK, former walk-on players who remain part of this season’s 16-man roster as their college careers come to a close.
Horn and Tow took different paths to living out their UK basketball dreams, which consist mainly of work on the practice squad and scout team. But the resulting impact of their effort is real.
“I feel like a lot of it kind of goes under the radar,” sophomore forward Trent Noah said of Horn and Tow. “... We’re playing against them every single day, and the scout team. They have a huge responsibility to go over and know the players and the ins and outs and the other teams’ plays and what their tendencies are for each individual player. So it’s a huge responsibility on them... They’re a huge piece.”
Pope’s made a concerted effort this season to get Horn and Tow into games when the opportunity arises. Kentucky’s five wins this season have all come at home against overmatched opponents, and by an average margin of more than 42 points.
Horn and Tow have made late cameos in all of those wins, to the vocal approval of the hometown crowd.
“They work so hard. They do everything behind the scenes and don’t get much glory,” sophomore guard Collin Chandler said. “So it’s fun to see them have a moment.”
Walker Horn began his UK basketball career under John Calipari
When Pope took over as the UK coach in April 2024, much was made about how he was starting from scratch in Lexington. The departure of John Calipari meant an almost complete roster turnover for the Wildcats. Pope’s first UK squad in 2024-25 returned essentially 0% of its minutes from the previous season.
But it wasn’t a total reset.
Two walk-ons from Calipari’s final Kentucky team, Horn and guard Grant Darbyshire, stuck around for Pope’s first season. (Darbyshire transferred to his hometown school, Cincinnati, this past offseason).
As such, Horn remains the only roster piece bridging the Calipari and Pope eras.
“I always wanted to be back here,” said Horn, whose father, Darrin, is in his seventh season as the head coach at Northern Kentucky. “There were obviously some complications everywhere with roster limits and stuff. So I had to wait to see how that played out, but I never wanted to go anywhere.”
Horn spent part of his high school career in Kentucky at Covington Catholic. And he actually earned the chance to play at Rupp Arena well before his UK career began. Horn was a sophomore contributor on CovCath’s 2019-20 team that won the 9th Region championship, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to cancel the 2020 Sweet 16 state tournament.
Nowadays, if you ask about Horn, teammates craft an image of a sage veteran who knows his way around all facets of life.
“If you have a question about Lexington or anything about the University of Kentucky, that’s the man to ask,” Noah said of Horn. “He’s been through the wringer, and he knows all the ins and outs. So if you ever need a food spot, where to go to the nearest grocery store, ways to beat traffic, anything like that, just hit Walker up.”
Horn will spend all four of his college seasons at Kentucky, making him the longest-tenured member of the UK program, covering coaches and players.
Horn has welcomed the chance to help his teammates assimilate. He’s played with 46 different teammates in the blue and white.
“I think in terms of helping new guys, a lot of it is off the court,” Horn said. “... I’ve lived here for four years, so helping guys get around campus, get around town, places to go eat, places to go shop for a certain thing or whatever. So I think just having someone that’s been here, been in the area, I’ve tried to be helpful for everyone.”
That sentiment extends to the practice floor inside the Joe Craft Center. Specifically, one moment from last season sticks out in Noah’s mind when it comes to Horn’s value.
“I know for a fact I ran off more floppy actions of Walker being (former Tennessee guard) Chaz Lanier than they did in the game,” Noah recalled. “... He’s a coach’s son, so he knows what’s going on. He knows the ins and outs of the offense, just like we do.”
After a year of playing for Pope, Horn considers himself bilingual. Along with other returnees like Chandler, Noah and Tow, Horn claims to speak both English and Kentucky basketball.
Beyond just basketball terminology, there’s another impact that Horn, Tow and Kentucky’s scout team personnel provide.
For lack of a better descriptor, they’re all vibes guys.
“They just bring good energy every day to where we can feed off (it),” Chandler said. “Because some days, (as) players, we’re going to come in juiced up, ready to go. Some days it’s not like that. So we’ve got guys that, no matter what happens, they’re bringing energy and that’s something that we love.”
Zach Tow joined Kentucky basketball following an open tryout
Tow’s path to the Kentucky team was less conventional than Horn’s.
In the final days of Pope’s first summer as coach, the team held an open tryout for UK students. Tow — who played prep basketball at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School — advanced from that process to become a Wildcat.
For a while, though, Tow’s standing on the UK roster was shrouded in mystery. His name was listed on the roster sheets that were distributed at games and on ESPN’s online roster. But Tow wasn’t included on UK’s own online roster.
That changed after Tow made his on-court debut during last season’s Senior Night home win over LSU.
“He showed up, and he fought through 60 guys in a bunch of workouts and then earned the right to come to practice and be on a one-day contract throughout the entire course of the season,” Pope said of Tow last March after that LSU game. “He came and battled every single day, never said a word, never missed a rep, never missed a practice, never was an issue, never asked for anything. Just came and fought every single day.”
Now Tow is back for a second and final season with the Cats.
“Last year the dream came true for me to be part of the team, and it just keeps coming true as it goes on,” Tow said. “Being here, getting to come back this summer and be around all these guys... It’s a brotherhood here.”
One of the key elements in Tow’s story involves a now-departed Kentucky player. Lamont Butler, the fifth-year leader of last season’s team, was instrumental in telling Pope that Tow deserved a UK jersey.
“Lamont going to coach and saying, ‘Hey, this guy deserves a jersey.’ And them all rallying behind that. I think that’s the main, like, golden part of the story,” Tow said. “There’s people that got behind me, gave it to me. Especially, like Lamont Butler and those guys, who are going to be legends here now.”
Tow hasn’t quite accumulated the number of teammates that Horn has during his UK career. But the changes in personnel during Tow’s two seasons are integral to his favorite experiences as a college player.
“I think that’s what I try to embrace. Getting everybody closer, getting me closer, making us more of a team and just being brothers at the end of the day,” Tow said. “I think that’s the best part of it. I’ll have these guys forever.”
Walker Horn, Zach Tow have gotten early-season playing time with UK
When rarely-used bench players enter a game during garbage time, they’re greeted by calls from the crowd to put up a shot and get on the stat sheet.
That’s been the case for Horn and Tow. But that long-awaited end product hadn’t yet arrived.
Until Wednesday night.
Both Horn and Tow scored their first college points during Kentucky’s 50-point destruction of Tennessee Tech at Rupp Arena.
The duo checked into the game with 1:49 to go. Just 27 seconds later, Horn splashed in a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock expired to get in the record book. It took 18 appearances over three-plus seasons, but Horn finally got his first points. And Rupp reacted accordingly.
Tow connected on a free-throw a short time later to earn his first point as a Kentucky player. It took him seven appearances to finally get on the scoresheet. In the closing seconds of Wednesday’s game, Pope called Tow over to the bench to congratulate him on the accomplishment.
It’s not just the offense that’s gotten attention.
Earlier this month during a press conference, Pope shouted out Horn’s effort on the defensive end of the court when asked about the ability to give Horn some run, citing assistant coach Alvin Brooks highlighting a “championship chest” — a Pope-ism for playing physical defense without fouling — performed by Horn.
“It was cool,” Pope said. “(Brooks) does it on video where he actually blows up the picture and circles it and slo-moed it. I think there was some “Chariots of Fire” music behind it. It was awesome.”
The points have finally arrived for Horn and Tow. But, their importance to the success of Kentucky basketball had already been cemented.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to have them on our team with us,” Noah said.
