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.

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