Iowa basketball: Jeff Horner named head coach of Iowa United

Former Iowa basketball player Jeff Horner will take the reigns of the Iowa United, who are preparing to play in the $2M winner-take-all TBT tournament.

Former Iowa basketball player Jeff Horner is about to be a very busy man if he isn’t already. Currently the head coach of Division 2 Truman State, Horner has also taken on the responsibility of head coach of the Iowa United, a team comprised of players from each of the four major universities in the state of Iowa who will compete in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).

The TBT is a $2 million winner-take-all tournament that is set up similarly to March Madness. In years past, the only team that was Iowa based was the Hilton Magic Legends, but after a few disappointing years, Matthew Crawford, General Manager of the Iowa United, decided to switch gears and open up the player pool to include guys from each of the major universities.

It’s early, but it seems to be working out as Crawford has relentlessly worked to pull together a collection of players who are incredibly talented and will represent the state of Iowa well.

With the addition of Jeff Horner and Horner’s Truman State assistant Austin McBeth (a former Iowa State Cyclone) to the coaching staff in replacement of former Cyclone Jake Sullivan, this team has quite the Iowa feel. Horner, a Mason City, Iowa native spent four years with the Hawkeyes before embarking on a professional basketball career which included a stop with the Iowa Energy in the G-League.

McBeth, meanwhile, is originally from Wayland, Iowa and went to community college at Iowa Western before spending three seasons in Ames, Iowa with the Cyclones.

As far as making a change now with the tournament just two months away, Crawford said this was the right time to do it. With many of the guys just getting back from their European basketball careers, nothing official has started or even taken place yet with the team that could halt the progress of switching coaches.

"After speaking to our staff and our players, we felt this was the time to move if we were going to do it."

Crawford went on to add that Horner is a great fit for the Iowa United not only because of his head coaching experience but because of his enthusiasm for the team and making it successful.

"He’s been a fan favorite of Hawkeye nation, and we’re excited to have him on board. Former Cyclone and current assistant with Jeff at Truman State, Austin McBeth will join him on the bench. He’s pumped to work with these guys. We exchange messages all the time about the team, the lineups, potential guys in the future, and that’s what you have to have for a team like this. You are swinging for the fences in a very short time and you have to have everyone on the same page and we feel like we have that now."

Although he hasn’t coached any of these guys at the collegiate level, Horner does have a wealth of experience with former Iowa basketball player and current G-League player Peter Jok. When Jok was in high school, Horner was actually his head coach at West Des Moines Valley.

In addition to Jok, Horner will be working with another Iowa basketball player in Nicholas Baer who just wrapped up an incredible career with the Hawks as a do-it-all sixth man off the bench.

The Iowa United will likely begin to play in The Basketball Tournament on July 25th in the Wichita Regional that will feature alumni teams from Kansas, Wichita State, and Marquette. Until then, they anxiously await the official announcement of all teams in the tournament. If you haven’t already, make sure to go The Basketball Tournament’s website and support the Iowa United.

Your support will help them get in the tournament and can potentially put some money in your pocket if they do win.