If you ran into Keith Van Horn on the street, the only clue you'd have that he's a basketball player is that he's pretty tall.
He's not built very big - he almost looks skinny - and his overall features are rather soft. He doesn't exhibit a tough-guy persona in the least and his soft-spoken manner makes him a better candidate for the library than the basketball court. Van Horn is a classic case of the phrase "looks are deceiving."Yet he is indeed a basketball player and one of the best in college basketball. He's certainly one of the best 19-year-olds anywhere in the country. Van Horn just completed an outstanding season where he was the main man for a 28-6 Utah basketball team. He cleaned up on all the postseason awards, garnering honors as WAC player of the year, District 7 player of the year, all-WAC first team and honorable mention all-America.
He played perhaps his best basketball of the season in February when he led the Utes to seven victories in eight games, averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 90 percent from the line. For his outstanding play, Van Horn earned Deseret News Athlete of the Month honors for February.
Van Horn started the month with a 26-point 12-rebound game against New Mexico and capped it off with a 22-point game against Fresno, in which he only played 21 minutes. In between were such outstanding games as the 37-point, 10-rebound performance against Wyoming, a 25-point, 11-rebound game versus Colorado State and 19 points and 15 rebounds against San Diego State.
The sophomore finished the year with 694 points, the seventh best total in school history and with 1,151 career points he's already 19th on the all-time list. If he stays through his senior year, and there's already speculation that he may not, he'll likely break the all-time Ute scoring record of 2,321 set by Billy McGill in the early 1960s.
Utah coach Rick Majerus absolutely loves Van Horn and calls him "actually a much better person than he is basketball player." And that's not to take anything away from his basketball skills, which are considerable.
Majerus likes to tell stories such as the time he ran into Van Horn at Denny's following the Utes' WAC-clinching victory over BYU earlier this month.
"It was about three in the morning and there was Keith at Denny's with his mother, his aunt and a couple of friends. Most guys would be out all night celebrating, but Keith would rather be with his mom. That's the kind of kid he is."
Majerus knows full well that Van Horn was a major reason for Utah's success this year and that he kept the Utes from going in the tank a year earlier when the team struggled to a 14-14 record. Besides his ability to shoot, jump and drive, Majerus would rather talk about Van Horn's team play and leadership as well as his making the honor roll twice this year already.
"He's very much a team player," said Majerus. "Keith is starting to grow up and is assuming the mantle of leadership. He drags the other guys with him and they are happy to go."
Majerus can also be Van Horn's biggest critic, which Van Horn shrugs off as his coach's desire to make him better.
"He's got to learn to rebound better, his passing isn't that good and his defense is very weak," said Majerus. "There are a lot of things he needs to work on."
Majerus laughs when he hears talk about Van Horn being ready for the NBA. Earlier this year, Fresno State coach Gary Colson said Van Horn "is wasting his time playing on this level." BYU coach Roger Reid also said of Van Horn, "I don't know if there's been any better player in the league the last few years," and suggested he is ready for the NBA.
Perhaps it is wishful thinking on the part of other WAC coaches about Van Horn moving to the NBA. And although Majerus says Van Horn has plenty of work to do before he can make the NBA, he's all for it.
"If he could leave after next year, I'd be very happy for him," said Majerus. "I believe in the refrigerator theory. I have plenty in my refrigerator, but when I look in Keith's refrigerator, I don't see as much. You can never replace money and if he could come out and make a lot of money, it would be great for him and his family."
Since the season ended with a disappointing loss in Boise 10 days ago, Van Horn has taken time off from the basketball grind. Next month, he'll start lifting weights, shooting baskets again and preparing for his junior season.
When asked to assess this past season, Van Horn naturally talked more in terms of the team than individual success.
"I had a lot better year than last year, but the difference was that we were 14-14 last year and 28-6 this year," he said. "We have everyone coming back with a good recruiting class, so next year could be even better."