Horn ready to lead South Carolina in his first year
COLUMBIA -- Dominique Archie believes the change in South Carolina from last fall to this is as simple as winning and losing.
"The main difference is our mentality," Archie says. "We want to be winners. Last year, we lost a lot and accepted it."
And maybe that's why there's a different man in charge this season, Darrin Horn leaving his successful program at Western Kentucky to rebuild the Gamecocks.
Horn, 35, is no Dave Odom, his predecessor who had one NCAA tournament appearance in seven years with the Gamecocks. Horn won't usually fill a notebook with comments, or expound on the state of the sport when asked. On the court, Horn uses his words to push forward a team that hasn't had a winning Southeastern Conference season in 10 years.
Horn's mindful that things won't change overnight. He's certain, though, they will change.
"We've seen what Florida and Tennessee have done in recent years and our mind-set is that if they can do it, why can't we?" Horn says. "We have a lot of positives in place."
The biggest may be Horn, who in five seasons at his alma mater took them from a middling mid-major to a Sun Belt Conference title and a spot in the NCAA tournament's round of 16.
South Carolina hasn't won a game in the NCAA tournament since 1973, the March before Horn was born.
"I wasn't there," Horn said. "I know what I'm focusing on is there are a lot of positives there that lead to (an NCAA victory) being possible."
Especially when the Gamecocks do it Horn's way.
"Things are different," point guard Devan Downey agreed. Horn "is the most demanding coach I've had. He makes us work hard, and not just at basketball. He demands the best of us in the classroom and in our personal lives."
Horn says his style looks like a lot of fun with people flying around and shooting the ball. The reality, Horn says, is how taxing his schemes around physically and emotionally.
Horn thinks his new players have done well to keep up and move forward.
"Everybody's buying in," Downey said. "As a team we're just going to trust coach Horn and do it his way, because evidently our way doesn't work."
Still, it won't be an easy rise for the Gamecocks, who were 14-18 a season ago. There are only two players over 6-foot-8 on their 11-man roster: little used 6-10 junior Mitchell Carter and 6-9 sophomore Sam Muldrow who did not play in last week's exhibition game and probably won't play in Friday's opener with Jacksonville State because of what Horn said were academic issues.
What they do have is an experienced, talented backcourt in Downey and Zam Fredrick. Downey, who returned to his home state university from Cincinnati, was the smart, speedy guard who averaged 18.4 points a game last season to top the Gamecocks and made several all-SEC teams.
Fredrick, with a 14.8-point a game average, led South Carolina with 68 3-pointers in his first season since transferring from Georgia Tech.
Horn got things going as quickly as he could. The Gamecocks had a four-game trip to Eastern Europe, and Horn made sure the practices were intense and on target.
"The main thing we told them was that the summer is going to be more challenging, and then come back for the fall that's going to be even more than that," Horn said.
If Horn's about flat-out intensity, he's got the perfect leader in Downey, who rarely stops moving even when he's on the bench.
Odom and his coaches relied on a half-court game and defensive soundness to keep in ballgames. The Gamecocks only twice surpassed 73 points in 16 SEC games. This time, Downey's charged with smartly pushing things ahead.
"Devan's intensity level causes everyone around him to raise theirs," Archie said. "It doesn't matter who is on the court with him or how tired he is, he always plays the same way."
Horn's tweaked some of Downey's game, wanting the school's single-season steals leader to be smarter about taking chances that could lead to all-too-easy baskets for opponents.
Anything, Horn says, to make the Gamecocks winners.
"If it happens in a basketball program, I've done it. Laundry, sweeping floors, driving six hours one way to recruit, going all night without sleep, whatever it takes," Horn said. "But by no means do I believe I've arrived. I think I've just been given a great opportunity and we want to continue to work to grow our program and have success."