Gamecocks have their man in Horn
New coach promises program's rise to national prominence
BY SUSANNE M. SCHAFER Associated Press

New South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn was introduced as the school's head basketball coach during a press conference Thursday.

COLUMBIA - South Carolina's new basketball coach Darrin Horn said Tuesday he intends to win the Southeastern Conference and make the Gamecocks a force nationally.

Horn said he'll waste no time in trying to improve South Carolina, who finished last season 14-18, has made the NCAA tournament just once this decade, and won its only regular season SEC title in 1997.

"We're here to compete and to win big and to win championships in the SEC and to be relevant nationally," said Horn, who took Western Kentucky to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament this season, the Hilltoppers' best NCAA tournament finish in 15 years.

Horn, 35, could make more than $1.3 million a year at South Carolina, a substantial raise from the $157,000 a year he made at Western Kentucky.

Horn will be paid $800,000 annually. His five-year contract includes incentives for winning that could be worth up to an additional $335,000 per year. He also will be paid $50,000 for every 1,000 additional season tickets sold over this season's total of 9,322 tickets.

Horn vowed to fill South Carolina's 18,000-seat arena to capacity.

"We're here to win championships and to not make any excuses and that's what we're going to do," Horn said.

Horn already has three recruiting appointments inside South Carolina on Wednesday, the day he officially takes over the post held for seven seasons by Dave Odom, who went 128-104 overall and 41-71 in the SEC in his seven years.

"We are going to put a fence around the state of South Carolina, and the best players in South Carolina are going to be recruited to play at the University of South Carolina," Horn said.

Horn plans to bring his up tempo style to the Gamecocks.

"We're going to see a team that's fast-paced, that plays extremely hard, that gets after it on both ends of the floor," Horn said.

Sophomore Devan Downey said Horn told his new players he wasn't going to be easy on them.

"He was straightforward. He was honest. He told us it was going to be hard, so get ready," said Downey, who led the team at 18.4 points a game last season. 29 wins. The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt Conference title and advanced to the West Regional semifinals, losing to top-seeded UCLA.

It was their first trip to the Sweet 16 since Horn was a point guard on a team that beat Memphis and upset Seton Hall to make the regional semifinals in the 1993 NCAA tournament.

Horn was an assistant at Western Kentucky, Morehead State and Marquette before becoming the Hilltoppers head coach in 2003, replacing Dennis Felton, who left for Georgia. Horn went 111-48 in five seasons.

He met with Gamecocks players before talking to the media, and they were impressed.

"I like his attitude toward things. He's very confident in his abilities and the things he feels he is going to get done," junior Zam Fredrick said. "I like that about him ¿î his swagger."

South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman said he may have been more impressed with what Horn's players did in the classroom than on the court.

Every player who completed his eligibility at Western Kentucky earned a degree.

"You're going to have the best of the best reach the primary goal here at South Carolina and that's to leave here with a degree," Horn said.

Hyman welcomed Horn, his wife Carla, 7-year-old daughter Caroline and 4- year-old son Walker with several Gamecock hats and other memorabilia.

Horn also showed he is a quick learner, carefully avoiding saying the name of South Carolina's biggest rival, Clemson.

"I think to mention the name would be to justify their existence, wouldn't it? We don't want to go there," Horn said. "I think I mentioned we're THE University of South Carolina."