A love for the game in the time of Covid can be a curse and a blessing for some student-athletes. Schools shutting down because of the virus, forcing student-athletes to drop their sport or transfer schools was a nightmare turned to reality for some.
Sophomore Tehree Horn is an athlete who knows that feeling all too well. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio with aspirations to play basketball in college, Horn made his way onto the men’s basketball team for Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio.
Growing up, basketball was a way Horn and his father made a connection. This connection grew into a passion, as it does for a lot of athletes, with the hopes of one day being good enough to play at Ohio State.
Practicing, playing, and staying consistent with his hard work, Horn was able to play all the way through his schooling prior to college. After putting in all this time and hard work, he was finally able to call Urbana University his new home to continue his love for basketball.
Urbana University is only about two hours away from Toledo, so it left Horn close to home and close to his family and friends. Being close to his loved ones was a huge upside for Horn as he still felt his support system would always be close by.
Unfortunately, Urbana University was closed permanently due to Covid-19. This devastated Horn as he had become so close to the coaches and staff at Urbana. Unfortunately, he was going to have to start the process all over again.
Disappointed, Horn found himself going through the same scouting and recruitment process he was in while attending Sylvania Southview H.S. The struggle to pick a new school and area to live in were all new worries in his horizon.
After many calls and conversations with different schools, Horn landed on the University of South Carolina Aiken after speaking briefly with former assistant coach Andrew Glover. An excitement he hadn’t felt in a while reappeared, but with this excitement came worry about having to move so far from home.
The idea that his support system who had been with him throughout his entire basketball career would no long be an easy two-hour drive, but an eleven-hour road trip. Picking up a basketball with his father and friends whenever he wanted began to seem like a dream of the past.
With feelings of excitement and disappointment, Horn made the long journey down south to his new home where he’d be given the responsibility of attempting to pick back up where he left of in his love of basketball.
Meeting all new players, all new coaches and staff members, Horn hopped back into his grind. Finding his ability to put basketball before his emotions, he began to prosper as a USC Aiken Pacer.
As a USC Aiken Pacer, Horn has been named the PBC Player of the week and as of January 24 he scored a career-high 30 points to go along with a career-best 10 rebounds in the win over Clayton State. Horn leads the team in scoring.
“I worked really hard to get here” Horn said. “I pride myself on working hard.” This mentality definitely has shown to pay off as he finds himself pushing through the struggles of having to leave his family and friends to grow as a person and as a basketball player.
Having lost the fact that his family went from being such a big part of his game to not being able to be there in person to support him was a big challenge Horn faced. Making the decision to leave home alone in a sense could be scary to just about anyone, but his love for basketball insured him he would find happiness where ever he ended up.
The USC Aiken facilities, coaches, and staff members made Horn feel even more sure of his decision to move. Being able to triumph the sadness of being far from home has really made him grow mentally and emotionally, things he might not have been able to do if he was still so close to home.
Having to deal with all of his emotions and thoughts on his own presented him with a new concept of preparation of someday going pro. Being independent was something Horn struggled a bit with while still living in Ohio, so being forced in a way to be independent now has given him a new outlook on life.
“The goal has always been to go pro,” Horn stated. With this move, his knowledge of the trials and sacrifices that he will one day have to face by being a pro basketball player has become even more clear for him. It is something he might not have received if he would have continued his education in or near Ohio.
He’s been able to see himself grow mentally, emotionally, physically, and as a person as a whole. He’s also realized that this has in return made him a better basketball player. A hard work ethic, a strive to be successful, and as Horn puts it “an obsession with basketball” has made him the man he is today.
He and his support system back home are proud of who he’s grown into with the move. And he is still able to play basketball with his dad over the summer.
