When the Going Gets Tough, Van Horn Makes Utah Tougher

Time has been on Keith Van Horn’s side lately. That and a little luck.

Throw in some star power, and it’s no wonder the Utah All-American forward from Diamond Bar seems to do no wrong these days. Even when it appears the clock has struck midnight for the Utes, Van Horn keeps the party going.

Proof was supplied in many forms at the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Las Vegas last week, where Van Horn turned opposing teams into pumpkins night after night. He won two games for the Utes with shots as time expired, then capped off the tournament by easily leading the team to a championship.

The clutch performances were a fitting WAC ending for Van Horn, Utah Coach Rick Majerus said.

“Keith was just incredible,” Majerus said. “I’m really at a loss for words [to describe] what he did. And anybody who knows me knows I’m never at a loss for words.”

It was all in a week’s work for the Ute senior, husband, father and likely NBA lottery pick. With that laundry list of responsibilities, Van Horn said he needs to make every minute count.

He does. Navy will get a chance to attest to that today in the NCAA West Regional against the second-seeded Utes. Southern Methodist and New Mexico already know what he can do.

With three-tenths of a second left in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament Thursday, Van Horn tipped in an inbounds lob pass from point guard Andre Miller to give Utah an improbable 59-58 victory. Van Horn slapped the ball into the basket with his right hand while in the air.

“[The official] told me that Keith wouldn’t have enough time to gather himself and shoot it, so that’s how I drew it up,” Majerus said. “But the rest of it was all Keith.”

He wasn’t finished. Van Horn gave Utah a 72-70 victory over New Mexico in the semifinals Friday with a 10-foot shot in the lane at the buzzer.

There was no need for last-second heroics in the championship game. Van Horn played one of his best games of the season with 37 points and 15 rebounds, and Utah defeated Texas Christian, 89-68.

“I would definitely say, without a doubt, the past week has been one of the best of my life,” Van Horn said. “I guess my timing was pretty good in the first game. In the second game, though, I didn’t play all that well. I just happened to grab that rebound at the end. I suppose sometimes you have to have a little luck to go places too.”

Van Horn has excelled in the college game for some time, but he doesn’t expect any star treatment.

“Everything on our team is run for Keith, through Keith or is about Keith, but you wouldn’t know it,” Majerus said. “Keith is the first guy to practice, the first guy to every team meeting. He’s the best captain I’ve ever had because he leads by example and he also has such great concern for his teammates. Keith is just very special.”

Van Horn is a three-time All-American and three-time WAC player of the year. He is Utah’s all-time leading scorer with 2,459 points, and he needs nine points to break Danny Ainge’s all-time WAC record. This season, Van Horn is averaging 22.2 points and 9.4 rebounds.

How Van Horn produces those numbers is what makes NBA talent-evaluators gush. Scouts say Van Horn, 6 feet 10 and 230 pounds, has one of the best shooting touches outside the NBA. He can score inside or outside, skills that could make him very rich.

“He’s going to go in the lottery,” said Marty Blake, the NBA’s director of scouting. “He’s probably the best senior in the country behind [Wake Forest center] Tim Duncan.”

Utah Jazz President Frank Layden goes further.

“In all my years in the NBA, and that’s a lot of years, I’ve seen few big men who can run as well as he does,” Layden said. “Really, he’s got all the equipment to be a great pro.”

Bill Murray coached Van Horn at Diamond Bar High. He expected big things from Van Horn--but nothing like what he has seen.

“I knew he would be good,” Murray said. “But truthfully, I never knew he would be this good. The great thing for Keith is that he went to Utah, because he and Majerus are just a great fit.”

Van Horn met his wife, Amy, at Utah. Their daughter, Sabrina, is almost 2. Understandably, he has some fond memories of the place.

“This is something I’ll never be able to duplicate again in my life,” Van Horn said. “This is a place I’m going to look back on and feel real good about.”