Holmes' Expulsion Proves Horn Puts Program First

Holmes' expulsion proves Horn puts the program - and the player - first for Gamecocks

Ron Morris, The State Columnist

Posted on 01.10.10

PERHAPS THE MOST telling comment of Bobby Bowden's 34 seasons as football coach at Florida State came two days before his team's BCS championship game 10 years ago in New Orleans.

Bowden informed the media that kicker Sebastian Janikowski would play in the game despite a curfew violation on New Year's Eve. This was not the first off-field transgression for Janikowski.

"Does it appear that he is getting preferential treatment?" Bowden said with a laugh. "It does to me. ... We're playing under international rules."

Bowden told the gathering the reason Janikowski would play was because the coach "wanted to win the national championship," and he presumably needed his kicker to do that.

Bowden's comments spoke volumes about the loss of values and perspective not only at Florida State but across the college coaching profession. Generally, the rules are for reserve players. Stars are allowed to repeatedly circumvent curfews, law enforcement and regulations in the name of winning games.

At USC, the sad and pathetic case of Derrick Watson comes to mind. Watson, a talented yet troubled running back, could not stay out of trouble but continued to maintain his football eligibility despite his many transgressions.

That's why it was so refreshing when Darrin Horn stuck to his principles and booted forward Mike Holmes off his South Carolina men's basketball team. Horn said Holmes would no longer play basketball at USC because of repeated violations of program rules.

"It was something that obviously (Horn) will lose the battle because of losing Michael," said Eric Hyman, USC's athletics director, "but he's going to win the war because of the message sent out that there are certain standards that are upheld with Darrin's philosophy."

In three seasons at USC, Holmes had developed into a productive post player, albeit one with limitations. His scoring average increased from 8.5 points to 10.8 to the 11 he averaged in six games this season. He contributed five rebounds on average this season, and his shooting accuracy had risen to 60 percent. That was countered by some liabilities on defense.

His presence in the lineup was certainly one of several reasons for the optimism that surrounded the USC program at the outset of this season. This still might be an NCAA tournament team, but it will have to reach that goal without Dominique Archie and Holmes.

Archie went down with a season-ending knee injury in late November, and Holmes was first suspended from the team following an incident over Thanksgiving break in his hometown of Bishopville. Finally, on New Year's Day, Horn kicked Holmes off the team.

Horn said he and the USC athletics department are not hiding the facts of Holmes' case from the public. Rather, he said, they are protecting Holmes. The only person who could be hurt by revealing the details of Holmes' problems would be Holmes.

Hyman said USC would honor an academic scholarship for Holmes if that is the route he chooses. If not, Hyman and Horn both said they would help land Holmes at another school where he can continue his progress toward earning a degree and play basketball.

Horn also said his program is not one that allows for three strikes by an athlete. To be sure, this is no reform school. By his actions with Holmes, Horn has emphasized to his remaining players that it is a privilege - not a right - to play college athletics.

"The way we do things, we're here to help young people develop and grow and put them in a position to be successful in life," Horn said on Friday. "In any endeavor, a head basketball coach, reporter, teacher, parent, there are some parameters you have to operate within. ...

"You can't talk about being a program and being a team and being about each other and have an individual who is not doing that and, yet, he continues to get rewarded with a scholarship and with playing time."

Many coaches believe a program owes it to an athlete to keep him or her in school and competing. Not Horn.

"I'm not going to do that because I'm not going to cheat a kid," Horn said. "You don't get to do that in real life. ... If I do that because it's going to help me win games, then I'm not really about what I say I'm about, and our program's really not what we're saying it's about. We ultimately cheat our young people if we don't do that."

Horn said he long has taken to heart the words of the late Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser who believed that production at some point must far outweigh problems. In the case of Mike Holmes that was hardly the case.

As a result, USC has a men's basketball program it can be proud of, and do not be surprised if Horn wins with those remaining players who believe in that program.

How refreshing.