Lance McAlister with Darrin Horn -- 12/16/25

Lance Talks with NKU head basketball coach Darrin Horn

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wlw RNL carry or Sports Talk presented by Kelsey Chevrolet.
I'm Lance count Hey, thanks for hanging out tonight. Let's
talk some hoops. Truest Arena the site for a Horizon
League showdown tomorrow night. They're Red Hot Norse hosting Oakland.
Bring a stuffed toy for a postgame Teddy Bear toss
and could beat for prizes. It's done in partnership with
Meyer and Toys for Tot's always a cool scene. The

(00:21):
Norse of nine and three overall, one in one in
league play. They are undefeated seven to zero at home
going into the weekend.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
I saw that. How about that?

Speaker 1 (00:28):
I love stats going into the weekend, the Norse with
the only team in the country with three players that
had scored at least one hundred and seventy points this year.
How about that? For more on the Norse, lets Norse up.
Welcome in their head coach friend of the show. We
love talking with them. That would be Darren Horne.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
How are you doing great? Lance? Thanks for having me man.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Thanks for catching up with me tonight. I look today,
you guys are averaging almost eighty six points a game.
That's eleven more points per game than any team you've had. There,
what's gotten into your offen this year?

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Better players. We just we just got more guys that
not only can score the ball lance, but I think
are are willing passers that have basketball lot cue to
make the right next play. We're just we're getting a
lot more easy shots. Now. The other thing about that is,
you know we're still top You know it changes every day,

(01:24):
but as of Sunday night, top ten in the country,
and turnover percentage is still top fifteen and steals percentage,
so our defense is leading to a lot of transition,
which is easy baskets.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
LJ wells ten games this year with at least ten
points in five boards. That's top ten in the country.
I've heard you refer to him when talking with Jim
and Rick on the post game as a grown man game.
It really is. And he's a finisher for you guys,
isn't he.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
He really has been. And I'm so proud of LJ
because the real truth is that he hasn't been that
his whole career. Right, We've seen flashes, but we haven't
seen this kind of consistency or just some games slat
out dominance from him. And just so proud of the
growth he's made and the commitment that he's made to
playing so aggressively and really impacting winning with his presence

(02:16):
on the interior. And again, I think a big part
of our offensive success is because he's playing the five
for us. But this is a guy that can pop
out on the floor and handle the ball and make
reads and make the right passes and knock down some
shots as well.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
In the Saturday whin, you had five guys score at
least twelve points and record a steal that never been
done in your Division one era, and you kind of
alluded to it. It's not a one man show. I
think you've got four guys averaging between thirteen and eighteen points.
There's contributions coming from all different directions.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, we've been really balanced, Lance, you know, And you
know we were talking about as a staff today, we've
got four guys that if they got twenty pointys something
given night wouldn't wouldn't really be that big a deal, right,
you know, So when you go into game with that,
and then maybe maybe a fifth and Tatosher, who's been outstanding,
you know, when you go into a game with that,
I do think it's been harder for teams to focus

(03:11):
on one guy. You know, there's been a lot of
that in the past where we're actually very interested for
the game tomorrow and some other games are important league play,
where teams have really tried to focus on taking out
a Marquis Warwick or a Trey Robinson or and Sam Vincent.
That's that's much harder to do with this team because
of the balance that we have.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
I noticed you had forty four in the paint against
Bellerman Saturday. You had forty in the paint against Cleveland State.
I was reading your former player, David Wassler covers you
guys for North's Illustrated, and he referred to it as
a paint first mindset. You guys can pound that area,
can't you.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, well, we're trying to write, you know, we want
to do that and transition on post speeds and then
and then even inside out on our threes. And one
of the things that's leading to is is better offensive
rebounding as well. So a lot of times ends up
on paid points putbacks.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Also, you're eleven games in. Through those eleven, have you
gotten a I would assume a better feel of of
combos and subs and getting guys on the court who
give you what you need in that moment.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
You know, I think we're getting there, and we're getting
there a little stoner maybe than we have in years past.
You know, still learning some stuff in terms of, you know,
where strengths and weaknesses are with certain combinations in the game.
But the biggest thing is we've had pretty good consistency
from individuals. You know. I think Donovan Rackett Nahari, who

(04:40):
we just called Donny R because his last name is
so hard to pronounce, you know, it's been a good
example of that. He's a guy that's come in. I
think he's shooting like eighty percent from the field because
he's happy to just run the floor and finish drop
offs and get offensive rebound put back. And he's really
impacted winning for us, you know, in the seventh and
eighth MA roll and so I think, you know, all

(05:02):
of those things are starting to add up when we're
getting a good feel for rotations and putting gods in
the best possible situations for them to be successful.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
You get Oakland tomorrow night at home for the showdown.
They're led by their wily veteran Greg Camp, who's in
is what forty second year, they're averaging eighty four a game.
They've dropped ninety eight on Toledo one hundred and one
and Purdue for Wayne, ninety five on Montana. They put
points on the board.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
As well, So it's really interesting. And you know, over
his career that's been can't steal right, like their teams
are going to score for sure. In the last few years,
he's gone to his zone of his own that has
made them better defensively and more focused on pounding the
ball inside. But this team is playing extremely fast. He
got a couple of really dynamic guards and they still

(05:49):
have good size and physicality on the interior. So really
going to be the challenge for us to not only
slow them down, but to handle their their size and
their physicality around the basket.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
I noticed this earlier today. I don't want to leave
it out. It's it's not x's and o's, but it's
off the court. It's really cool. Your team has partnered
with Seven Hills Church and your players delivered gifts to
local schools today. What what a cool way to give
back to the community.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, you know, our guys have really done a good
job of that this year. I think this is maybe
our third project partnering with Seven Hills. He's done such
a phenomenal job of serving the community and to be
able to give back the kids and help them have
a good Christmas with a couple of elementary schools this morning.
It's it's, you know, something that's important to us. You know,

(06:35):
the Northern Kentucky community means so much to us and
is really the reason we have a program and and
and why our guys want to be a part of
it is because the Norse nation and to be able
to give back in our area means a lot. And
quite honestly, Lance and in today's college basketball world where
you know, these guys are still in full scholarship and
don't have any expenses but getting checks every month, and

(06:56):
you know, a good reminder for them to uh have
appreciation for how great, thankful they are to be playing
college basketball at a winning program and getting paid and
be reminded, especially in this time of the year, the
holiday season, right how important it is. I think others
can get back very.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
Well, said absolutely. I hesitate to look ahead. I know
you don't want to do that, but Sunday, another home game,
you get Chris Mack in College of Charleston. We talked
to it and it's a noon tip. We talked about
this back in the preseason. But remind me, how did
that game come about? Did you you match up with
Chris Mack and Charleston?

Speaker 2 (07:33):
You know, it was a game that neither one of
us wanted to play. We were desperate to finish our schedules.
I don't think either one really wanted to play a
program of our qualities. But I think Chris got talked
into it because you thought, well, at least the next
year when I come home, I could just stay home
for Christmas, right, So, uh, you know, we put the
game right before Christmas, and you know, if I could

(07:55):
ran for a second, Lance, you know, when you talk
about attendance, you know, you always hear things like, well,
you're not fun to watch, and we're averaging eighty five
points a game, and well if we were just winning, coach,
and you know, we're notine in three and you know,
possession away from being ten and two, and well, you know,
it's just your schedule is better. And you know this
week we've got you know, one of the other premiere

(08:15):
programs in our league coming in, and I think one
of the premiere mid majors in all of college basketball.
When you talk about success over the last twenty years
and the resources and what they put into it and
nil and all those things. I mean, Charleston is really
the kind of program that all of us are are
are striving to be. And so we've checked all the boxes,

(08:36):
and man, we need truus areno as full as possible
for both of those games to really help our guys.
And what's going to be two really good basketball games
to watch.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
Tomorrow night Oakland Sunday, College of Charleston. Tickets nkunors dot com.
It is always great here in your voice. Always enjoy
our conversations. You know you're welcome anytime, and best of
luck tomorrow night.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Thanks, I mean, I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Thanks coach. There you go, Darren Horne, head coach of
the Norse. Norse and up they're red hot, nine and three,
one in one in late play seven and oh at
home and would like the benefit of the home crowd
tomorrow night as they try to get to eight and
oh at home in a showdown versus Oakland. So one
team averaging eighty nearly eighty six points a game at
Oakland averaging eighty four points a game. Holy cal wonder

(09:23):
what the over under total on that game is. Later on,
after the eight o'clock news, we'll talk with Richard Patino
in advance of the Musketeers opening Big East play tomorrow night.
But more coming up next of your reaction appreciation, Foreign
memory shared of the four new Reds Hall of Famers
as we roll on with RNL Carrier Sports Talk presented

(09:45):
by Kelsey Chevrolet seven hundred WLW the.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Nightcap with Gary Jeff Walker where the drakes and conversation
hit the spot tonight at nine on seven hundred W L.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
We've been duped, hoodwinked, Calm for fifty years. The lung
hair industry

Speaker 3 (10:05):
Sold us toxins in a bag and made our yards
more toxic than a bad relation