For the past two years ACC fans have had to listen to a steady stream of clueless announcers dropping references to Shane Larkin being Barry Larkin's son. Making fun of these announcers became a thing on Twitter. Now LSU fans will get their turn, as Keith Hornsby (OMG! did you know he was Bruce Hornsby's son?) picked LSU over NC State and St. Mary's as his transfer destination.
[Insert Hornsby song reference mistakenly thought to be clever]
Keith Hornsby will have to sit out a year, and then he'll have two years to play two.
At UNC-Asheville he loaded up the statbook. But this is a dangerous thing for fans to get excited about. High individual stats don't necessarily translate into wins if those stats aren't acquired with efficiency.
Should Tiger fans be excited?
Hornsby was high volume, taking just over 24% of the shots. But – which is rare for most transfers – he was also efficient. So excite away. He made 47% of his 2s, 38% of his 3s, and 93% of his free throws. He had a solid assist rate (15th in the conference) and he didn't turn the ball over. He was average at drawing fouls (3.7/40). And he has good size at 6-4 and the frame that can add significant strength with a year in a high major weight program.
The only misleading stat was his rebounding (4.1 per game). He had that many only because he had a tremendous number of opportunities. His offensive rebounding rate (2.9%) was really low, and his defensive rate (11.2%) was about average for a point guard. But with added strength and a year scrimmaging against high major players he should be able to improve a bit. And if not, being an average rebounder is hardly a handicap.
All told, Hornsby is a gifted offensive player at the very least, and was one of the better pickups on the 450+ player transfer market this season.
