No one has to sell NKU’s Darrin Horn on the value of in-state basketball talent
In Darrin Horn’s time (2003-08) waving the red towel as head men’s basketball coach at Western Kentucky, one pillar of his recruiting approach was emphasis on the home state.
“I’ve always felt like what separated Western over the years was having really, really good players from the state,” says Horn, now the Northern Kentucky University head man.
So even as Horn wooed future NBA players Courtney Lee (Indiana) and Jeremy Evans (Arkansas) to Bowling Green from other states, he made recruiting Kentucky a priority.
That’s how Shelby County’s A.J. Slaughter (1,581 career points at Western), Elizabethtown’s Steffphon Pettigrew (1,544 career points) and Lyon County’s Ty Rogers (921 career points, one epic NCAA Tournament buzzer-beater) became WKU staples.
“We are trying to do the same thing at Northern Kentucky, now,” Horn says.
There is every reason to think Horn’s Kentucky-centric approach is about to pay off big for NKU.
Last year, Horn dipped into Lexington to sign Henry Clay First Team All-Stater Marques Warrick. All the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Warrick did as a freshman was average 15.8 points a game and earn Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors.
Some had questioned whether the willowy Warrick had either the physical strength or the fully-revved motor necessary to thrive as a college freshman.
“What we found out quickly about ‘Ques is that he’s a really gifted scorer,” Horn says. “He just scores. The other things, he’s really bright. And, very quietly, he’s ultra-competitive.”
For the coming season, Horn has added two more Kentucky First Team All-State players.
As a high school senior in 2020-21, Sam Vinson led Fort Thomas Highlands to its first Boys’ State Tournament title.
The 6-5 guard (22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists a game) was the Sweet Sixteen MVP. Vinson was also named Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and was the leading vote-getter on both the Herald-Leader and Courier Journal All-State teams.
Horn believes Vinson can have a freshman-year impact at NKU similar to what Warrick produced.
“Sam has great feel and IQ and can play the point-guard position — which we need help at,” Horn says. “Physically, he is ready (for college basketball). He’s a legit 6-5, (and) even bigger than I thought.”
Former Bowling Green star Isaiah Mason (17.7 points, 7.4 rebounds) led the Purples to the Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals. The 6-4 wing was also First Team All-State by both the Herald-Leader and the Courier Journal.
An NKU roster deep with wing talent may impede Mason’s chance at immediate glory but he should prove a core player for the Norse moving forward.
“Love him. Just a winner,” Horn says of Mason. “You put him out there and good stuff happens. We think he is the type of guy you win big with.”
Before John Brannen’s ill-fated move to Cincinnati, the former Northern Kentucky head coach made NKU a presence in in-state recruiting by signing Kentucky’s 2016 and 2018 Mr. Basketball winners.
The former, Carson Williams, transferred to Western Kentucky after two seasons. The latter, Trevon Faulkner, remains as the veteran leader of the NKU program.
This past season, the 6-3, 190-pound Faulkner averaged a team-high 16.7 points. Horn wants to see the ex-Mercer County star improve the accuracy of his jumper (41 percent shooting, 27.5 percent from three-point range).
“I think there was a transition (from the prior season) with Trevon being in an elevated role (on the team) and all that hurt his (shooting) percentages,” Horn said. “That said, he’s got to be better at it. He just does.”
Two seasons ago, Horn inherited a strong, veteran team from Brannen and coached the Norse (23-9) to the Horizon League Tournament title. Had there been a 2020 NCAA Tournament, NKU would have been in it.
This past year, a rebuilding Northern (14-11) started slow but won nine of its last 12 games. The Norse season ended with a semifinals loss to Oakland in the Horizon League Tournament.
“I feel like our guys got better. We finished strong,” Horn says. “And I think our roster is really good right now.”
Horn, 48, took Western to the NCAA tourney round of 16 in 2008, then saw his career ascension stall during a challenging four-year run (2008-12) as South Carolina head coach.
For Horn, the star player on Tates Creek’s 1991 Boys’ Sweet Sixteen runner-up team, the chance to both be a head coach again and to do so in his home state has been a boon.
“There’s a vision here. There’s a commitment here,” Horn says of NKU. “This is a place, you get looked in the eye and told the truth — whether you want to hear it or not. That’s the kind of work environment I want. It’s been awesome.”
Meanwhile, the in-state recruiting blueprint that Horn utilized to success at WKU already seems to have NKU primed to thrive.
“I think there are good players in this state,” Horn said. “We want that guy who isn’t going to Kentucky or Louisville to come here and see that he can do everything he wants to do right here.”
