I’ve been quiet for a long time, but no more. I wanted to give the basketball team a chance to prove their worth without me (publicly) saying so because I’m superstitious and I didn’t want to jinx them. In particular, I would like to make a few comments about Jeff Horner, a man who many have doubted over the past four years.

Andyram and I have been Jeff Horner fans for a long time. A long time, as in since he committed to Iowa his freshman year in high school. Ever since Jeff decided to follow in the footsteps of former Mason City and Iowa Hawkeye legend Dean Oliver, Andyram and I have supported him.

I watched Jeff Horner play twice during his senior year in high school, both times against Marshalltown. The first time was during the CIML regular season at the Roundhouse in Marshalltown, where Horner dropped 25 and overpowered Michael Bell and a much better (overall) Marshalltown team. Horner’s team in high school was probably a .500 team without him. Seriously, they were mediocre at best.

Jeff Horner was so good that he turned them in to a 22-2 team. In a substate game at Valley High School against Marshalltown (the second game I saw), Horner again carried his team by dropping 50 points and a barrage of 3 pointers. Marshalltown hated him. The game was all but decided with under five minutes left, and Mason City coach Bob Horner pulled his son from the game for a rest.

The Marshalltown student section, seated back from the baseline at the Mason City goal, taunted Mason City with chants like “One man team!” and “You’ll suck next year!” Bob and Jeff Horner would have none of it. As Marshalltown was chanting “one man team”, Jeff returned to the game and threw down a monstrous dunk right in the faces of the Marshalltown student section. Never again would Marshalltown taunt Jeff Horner.

Mason City moved on to match up against Ankeny in the first round of the class 4-A state tournament. Ankeny defeated Mason City 62-52 by sticking three players, including all-state quarterback Kalvin Grabau-Keele on Jeff Horner for the majority of the game. Jeff still managed 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists despite being mobbed the entire game.

Shortly after the season, Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner joined forces on an AAU team that completely demolished everyone else in the state. I watched Jeff and Greg blast team after team in a tournament at Des Moines Hoover high school, including a team headlined by future teammate Adam Haluska. Even then, it was clear that the future Hawkeyes were going to be something special four years later.

Fast forward four years to the present day Iowa Hawkeye basketball team. Jeff Horner is the all-time Iowa leader in three point baskets and assists. Iowa has never seen a sweeter three point jump shot than that of Jeff Horner. At the same time, we are blessed to have a player who could have scored 30 points a night that also has the leadership and ability to become our school’s all-time leader in assists.

A lot of Iowa fans doubted in Jeff Horner’s ability following his partially torn MCL in the UNI game. I’ve heard it all. “Horner shoots too much.” “Horner is really struggling, they need to play Tony Freeman more.” “Horner is terrible.” I’ve never been so pissed in my life.

There’s not much you can say during a time like that. After all, Andyram and I predicted before the season that Jeff Horner would not miss an a shot the entire year, and we whole-heartedly believed it. We stuck it out. “We’re not the same without him on the floor.” “He’s still the best player on the team.” “Once he gets healthy, it’s all over,” we said.

The final time I saw Jeff Horner play live was the game against Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He really struggled through the game in that damned knee brace. It wasn’t hard to tell that he wasn’t the same player with it on. He finished the game with two points on two free throws at the end of the game to seal the win. It hurt to watch.

The knee brace came off the next game against Purdue, and Jeff dropped a career high 32 points on 7-10 shooting from three. We finished out the season with wins against Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Jeff started looking like the player everyone expected him to be, but he still wasn’t getting the credit he deserved. Credit in sports is always lagged.

I knew Jeff Horner was back when he slammed one down against Wisconsin early on during the final home game of his career. 22 points in 37 minutes and a big win over Wisconsin is a hell of a way to finish a Carver-Hawkeye career.

The Big Ten tournament is history. “”Jeff Horner has imposed his will on the tournament. He’s been tremendous,” said Iowa coach Steve Alford. Tremendous he was. A team high 26 points against Minnesota. A team high 14 points against Michigan State. A team high 16 points against Ohio State. Tournament MVP Jeff Horner, indeed, imposed his will on the tournament.

“I think he sees in my eyes that I want to win so bad and I want to win for the team and I want to win for him,” Horner said. “This team wants to win for him, everything he’s put up with, everything he’s gone through. He’s stuck right with it and stuck right through it. He never quit, and I think that’s a big reason we never quit as seniors.” Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Jeff Horner is a winner.

I am proud to say that we never, ever, ever doubted Jeff Horner. We have argued with friends, family, and bitter rivals about Jeff Horner. It didn’t matter who we disagreed with. We’ve been Jeff Horner fans for too long to give up now.

Mikehawk is a prophet. Remember him saying “Jeff is hands down the best guard in the conference.”? He just proved it in the Big Ten tournament.

This is an unforgettable time for real Hawkeye fans. Jeff Horner is locked in and ready to destroy, and we’re fortunate enough to be along for the ride. Enjoy watching the greatest player in Iowa history while you can.