Hard To Be Happy For D. Horn

Under normal circumstances, I would be elated by the success that Darrin Horn has been enjoying in his first year as head basketball coach at South Carolina. Basically, Horn would be "your local boy that's done good." He was a prep star at Tates Creek, playing for an 11th region champion that made it all the way to the state finals at Rupp.

Darrin then of course played his college ball at Western Kentucky, where he was a big part of some tremendous Hilltopper teams that did some major damage in the Sun Belt and NCAA play. He began his coaching career there in Bowling Green as a grad assistant, and received further tutelage under Tom Crean at Marquette (another coach that I respect).

He comes from a good family, and by all accounts is a good husband and father himself. He coaches an upbeat brand of basketball, and his teams play hard and clean. There really isn't a whole lot that's not to like about Horn.

Except....

These just aren't normal circumstances.

Not only did Darrin take a job in the SEC, he took one in the SEC East. And we all know what that does.

That pits him against my team. My alma mater, my Big Blue.

And that's unfortunate. Because now I want to beat Darrin Horn. And I'm not even really conflicted about it. I straight-up wish for him to fail against Kentucky. I hope he loses twice to UK each year and once in the conference tournament if we should happen to meet there. Heck, in the unlikely event the Cats and Gamecocks should meet for a fourth time in another postseason tourney matchup, well, you can figure it out.

I won't even get into the dynamics of program-building or the possibilities of recruiting wars. It could get awfully complicated if Coach Horn stays in the Palmetto state for a while and really thrives there.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I do not hate the guy on a personal level. As an individual, I wish him only the best. If he was coaching in the Big East or the Pac 10, I'd be rooting for him all the way (again, any postseason matchups with UK aside).

But Kentucky basketball is Kentucky Basketball for me.

Darrin Horn has a darn good team. There was much more pre-game hoopla surrounding the game at Rupp, simply due to Lexington being Horn's home town. I give SC credit for how well they played back in January, and for Devan Downey hitting a big-time, difficult shot for the game-winner.

The Wildcats really need to return the favor in Columbia. This represents a sweet opportunity to bolster tourney credentials and get a little end-of-season momentum going any revenge angle aside. I once again expect a very tough game.

It's just that I have absolutely no mixed emotions about who to pull for.

Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons by lutonian