Iowa basketball: Four former Hawks who could replace Andrew Francis
By Andrew Wade
Jeff Horner
Another Iowa basketball great from a later era than the previous two candidates who could be a viable candidate is Jeff Horner. Also hailing from Mason City the 6’3” point guard played four seasons under Steve Alford before playing four years professionally.
As a Hawkeye, Horner put together an impressive resume including 1,502 career points, 612 assists, and 563 rebounds. He also managed to lead the Hawks to two NCAA Tournament appearances was named to the Third Team All-Big Ten team twice.
After his playing days ended, Horner took over the West Des Moines Valley basketball program where he coached former Iowa Hawkeye Peter Jok, who is now playing in the G-League and will be appearing with the Iowa United this summer. Four seasons later, Horner headed north to North Dakota to be the Head of Basketball Operations, and four more years later he was named the head coach of Truman State University, a D-2 school in Missouri.
The Bulldogs are fresh off a disappointing 14-15 campaign, but Horner’s Iowa connections and his skillset as a former guard could be enough to sway Gary Barta into hiring him. Plus, it would be a jump up for Horner into D-1 basketball where he would have the opportunity to learn under long-time D-1 head coach Fran McCaffery.