:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60464007/109921136.jpg.0.jpg)
On Monday, the Texas Longhorns basketball program announced the promotion of assistant coach Darrin Horn to a new position as associate head coach.
“Darrin is an extremely valuable member of our coaching staff,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “He continues to impact our program in a variety of ways, from recruiting to skill development to game planning. I’m grateful to have such a dependable and experienced voice to rely on.”
Horn joined Smart’s first staff in Austin following stints as the head coach at South Carolina and Western Kentucky. While coaching the Hilltoppers, Horn led the program to the Sweet 16 in 2008, his best result in nine season as a head coach. Overall, he holds a .606 winning percentage at those two stops.
When Smart left VCU to take the job at Texas, Horn’s addition to the Longhorns staff in 2015 made sense — his teams were known for playing at a fast tempo on offense and pressuring on defense.
Since coming to Austin, Horn has distinguished himself through his work coaching big men. Under his tutelage, Mo Bamba led the Big 12 in double-doubles, rebounds, and blocked shots while showing improvement with his raw offensive game.
The previous season, Horn helped Jarrett Allen develop into a lottery pick after finishing second on the team in scoring and first in rebounds, blocked shots, and minutes per game.
Arguably the most impressive developmental work by Horn was with Prince Ibeh in his first season on the 40 Acres. Thrust into a bigger role by the injury to Cameron Ridley, Ibeh shot 63 percent from the field in conference play while averaging 5.3 points per game and blocking 2.4 shots per game. Never the most coordinated athlete, Ibeh nonetheless developed an effective low-post game while working with Horn. In addition, he was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Horn has also made an impact on the program as a recruiter, helping to land Allen in the 2016 recruiting class and adding talented power forwards like Kamaka Hepa and Jaxson Hayes to the 2018 recruiting class.