Horton believes it is his time to become a leader
Roster turnover means junior guard is most experienced Panthers player with 22 games
Ithiel Horton is the first to acknowledge the inherent oddity of the situation in which he finds himself.
The Pitt men’s basketball guard has played all of 22 games for the Panthers, but after an offseason of roster turnover, he enters his junior year as one of the team’s most experienced and productive players. Of the seven scholarship players returning from last season, Horton leads the team in points per game (8.9), starts (18), made field goals (72) and made 3-pointers (43).
The player who was the mysterious newcomer this time last year is suddenly the sage veteran.
“Now that [Xavier Johnson] and [Au’Diese Toney] are gone, everybody is looking toward me to kind of bring and establish the culture and bring leadership this year,” Horton said. “But I think I’m ready for it.”
After a transformational offseason, there’s reason to believe he will.
Like thousands of his counterparts across college basketball, Horton spent much of the past seven months fine-tuning and fundamentally improving various facets of his game — his jumper, his ability to create off the dribble, his conditioning, strength and quickness. Horton’s biggest strides, however, came far away from the court.
For stretches of last season, Horton, by his own admission, struggled with the mental side of the game. He struggled finding a sense of consistency and too often strove for perfection in an imperfect game, especially for someone whose offensive game is built around outside shooting. He failed at times to keep control of his emotions, like when he was ejected late in a Jan. 30 blowout loss to Notre Dame, blowing past coach Jeff Capel, who was trying to talk to him, as he walked to the locker room.
“That was just a sign of immaturity,” Horton said.
For whatever frustration Horton felt at times last season, it never got to a point where he wanted to transfer for the second time in his college career (he came to Pitt in 2019 after spending his freshman year at Delaware). Yet, in March, whispers began circulating on social media and message boards that he, like Johnson and Toney, was going to enter the transfer portal.
Like any rumor, there was a small bit of sense to it. Incidents like the Notre Dame ejection and moments where he would sit on the bench while the rest of his teammates stood and clapped to encourage Pitt while it played defense gave some credence to an otherwise baseless idea. Still, it was a hypothetical that never truly added up. Why would a player who had already transferred once in his career and would risk having to sit another year or lose a year of eligibility leave a team on which he would be the leading returning scorer?
Horton ultimately issued a statement reaffirming his commitment to the program, noting that “I am just getting started here.” Later, he said, he received an apologetic message from someone who told him that he was part of a group of students that started the rumor.
“There was really no serious consideration of leaving,” Horton said. “I just got here. I just started last year. Last year didn’t count.
Why would I leave? Why would I leave to go to a situation that’s not stable? If I go to another school, I don’t know if I’m going to be playing a lot. I don’t know if I’m going to get the type of coaching I’m receiving here. I don’t know if I’m going to get the type of exposure that I’m getting here.”
Over the past several months, Horton has met regularly with associate head coach Tim O’Toole, who has had him complete questionnaires and read books that primarily revolve around the concept of teams. Horton recently finished “Shoe Dog” by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and plans to reread it at some point soon.
With that work has come a quick and tight bond with new backcourt mate Jamarius Burton, a transfer from Texas Tech who has read many of the same books.
“We both know that in order for us to reach our personal goals, we’ve got to win, and the best way to win is if everybody is on the same page,” Burton said. “Really, it’s trying to build a chemistry, understanding where he likes the ball, where I like the ball and how we can play off each other and vice versa for everybody else.”
Burton even played an integral role in getting Horton off of social media, where he hasn’t been active for more than two months. Part of what fueled speculation of Horton transferring was his Instagram page, where he had deleted all of his previous photos and references to Pitt, along with a new post that was captioned “Under construction.” Often, he would get off a social media platform only to unconsciously return to it minutes later, almost like a reflex. It convinced him a change was needed.
It’s a move Horton described as “liberating,” a helpful step in a larger mental evolution.
“Social media is just constantly seeking validation from people, constantly liking pictures and sharing things,” Horton said. “You don’t really see what people go through on a daily basis. They just show you the highlights. All of that Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, all of it’s fluff. That was a big mental transformation for me, not seeking validation from people on the internet. Who cares?”
How it will translate to the court remains to be seen. While Horton is the Panthers’ top returning scorer, he’ll be part of what should be a deep backcourt with Femi Odukale, Nike Sibande and Burton vying for playing time at guard.
On what has been a poor outside shooting team throughout Capel’s tenure, Horton provides Pitt with something it desperately needs. At 37.1%, he was second on the team in 3-point percentage among players with at least four attempts, trailing only Sibande, who was only a 33.6% career shooter from 3 before connecting on 17 of 39 attempts last season. Horton was inconsistent, though, showing out from deep in several games before constantly misfiring in the next few.
His coaches are confident in what arguably the team’s most proven player can accomplish.
“One of his goals — and these are his words — coming into the season, and we talked about this, is to simplify the game,” Capel said. “I think he has done a really good job of that. There are still times when he’ll take some shots that are whatever, but that’s not just him. That’s everyone. But, man, I believe in him so much. I think he has a chance to be one of the better shooters in the ACC and college basketball.”