South Carolina Basketball: Ranking the worst coaches in Gamecock history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 2 Worst Coach of All-Time:
Darrin Horn
Sandwiched between two of the better coaches in Gamecock history, Darrin Horn (2008-2012) followed Dave Odom and predated Frank Martin as the head coach of the South Carolina basketball team.
Formerly the head coach at Western Kentucky University in the Sun Belt Conference, Horn had come off of a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA Tournment in his only Tourney appearance with the Hilltoppers, and his first season in Columbia was a strong one.
Riding a roster of experienced players hailing primarily from the Carolinas and Georgia, Horn’s Gamecocks finished second in the SEC East but were snubbed from the NCAA Tournament despite winning 21 games and going 10-6 in the SEC. Devan Downey and Zam Fredrick combined to score over 35 points per game for Horn’s best team.
After that, things went downhill quickly for Horn and the Gamecocks. Three losing seasons in a row concluded with the most losses in program history (21) in the 2011-2012 season. Despite recruiting at high level during his time in Columbia, Horn could not guide the program to success, and he was fired after the 21-loss campaign.
After leaving South Carolina basketball, Horn spent a couple of years working in sports media before returning to coaching at Northern Kentucky. He has had lots of success with the Norse and was rewarded with the highest-paying contract ever in the Horizon League.