Basketball coaching legend retired, coached rival private high school into IHSAA
probation
by Steven Becker, THG Sports
Jim Horton retired from
Greenville, Indiana’s Northwest Floyd High School in 1999 as a
basketball coaching in legend, having amassed 707 wins over a 32-year career
while leading the Hilltoppers to six ISHAA states titles and coaching four Mr.
Basketballs.
After two years of
retirement, Northwest Floyd’s archrival, officials at Our Lady of Guadalupe, a
Catholic high school in Jeffersonville, coaxed Horton out of retirement with hopes that he would once again
work his magic and turn a struggling program into a perennial powerhouse.
Boy was that a mistake.
Horton was fired last
Wednesday after leading the Peacocks to a 44-23 record over three seasons. He
also led the program into serious trouble with the state’s athletic governing
body for a series of violations recently discovered by the Indiana High School
Athletic Association.
Recent evidence that has
come to light has shown that Horton made over 50 rules violations in three years
as head basketball coach at Guadalupe. And he did it on purpose. As a matter
of fact, Horton is the one who turned the program in to the ISHAA.
Some of the violations made
by Horton include: paying players for every free throw made during each game,
hiring strippers to entertain the team after an upset victory over Clarksville
in 2002, having alumni send limousines to pick up recruits for visits to the
school, giving numerous unauthorized gifts to players, and allowing players to
drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and marijuana on the school bus after games.
In a Sunday interview with
THG, Horton revealed that he broke every rule possible while at Guadalupe
because he hated the school so much that he wanted to do everything in his power
to destroy their program.
“I spent 40 years of my
life as a part of Northwest (Horton attended Northwest as a high schooler and
spent four years as an assistant before taking over as head coach),” said
Horton, “I bleed Green and Black, and would do anything to help the Hilltoppers
to victory. I saw taking the job at Guadalupe as a chance to destroy our hated
rival forever!”
If the ISHAA has its way,
Horton’s evil scheme will work. IHSAA commissioner Bob Rest said that the
seriousness of the violations could lead to the death penalty for Our Lady of
Guadalupe’s basketball program. “We cannot stand idly by while violations such
as these occur. We must deter other programs from taking similar actions.”
Horton didn’t seem to care
that his recent firing and IHSAA violations will tarnish his reputation as one
of the greatest coaches in Indiana history. “I never cared
about accolades or what people think and I am too damn old to start now. What I
care about is results, and in this case, the end justifies the means.”
The IHSAA’s ongoing
investigation into Our Lady of Guadalupe’s basketball program is expected to
take several more months.
