Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz lost a good one, maybe the best ever, although he is not close to being the franchise’s greatest player.
Putting aside basketball, Jeff Hornacek has to rank among the finest gentlemen ever to wear a Jazz uniform. Focusing strictly on basketball, the former sharpshooter belongs among the top 10 ever to wear a Jazz uniform.
After serving as a full-time Jazz assistant coach for less than three seasons, Hornacek is returning to his NBA roots. A former second-round draft pick of the Phoenix Suns in 1986, Hornacek will become the organization’s 16th head coach.
He leaves Ty Corbin’s staff to take over a team that finished last in the Western Conference, 35 games behind Oklahoma City. The team is devoid of star talent, with a roster full of unproven or overpaid players.
And you thought Corbin has a tough job.
While on the topic of Corbin, many Jazz fans wish he was going to coach in Phoenix. Frustration runs high over Corbin’s seeming reluctance to give more minutes to the younger players.
Considering the team’s veterans mostly underachieved this season, the collective impatience is understandable. But it’s wrong to place all the blame on Corbin, even though he made a number of strange decisions during last season.
In retrospect, trying to manage a roster that included eight players in the last year of their contracts was impossible. The real test of Corbin’s ability as a coach will come over the course of the next two seasons.
In time, we’ll know if he’s good enough or if the Jazz need to fire a coach for the first time in more than 30 years.
For now, Hornacek wishes his new team could have the talent that the Jazz had last season.
Suns management and their fans can only hope the new coach will match the success he had as a player. In 14 years, Hornacek played in one All-Star game and became the missing link the Jazz needed to make two appearances in the NBA Finals. He is one of seven Jazz players to have his jersey retired.
As is often the case, Hornacek’s contributions to the Jazz go far beyond numbers. Better than anyone, he upheld the ideals the organization desires to present.
Perhaps Hornacek’s best attribute is his ability to act like a regular guy. For all his success, he’s just like you and me.
Two examples stand out to illustrate the point.
Hornacek tried his best to be a normal dad to his children, even if it meant dealing with the hassles of being a celebrity. While others in similar circumstances watched from afar, Hornacek coached his sons in youth baseball. He often stood in plain sight, running through a series of signs as the third-base coach.
And get this — he would fly on Southwest. Talk about an average Jeff.
During his time as a part-time assistant coach, Hornacek would travel from his home in Phoenix to Salt Lake City several times in the season. A week or so after one such trip, a Southwest patron was overhead to tell a fellow passenger that he actually saw Hornacek on a flight sitting there in the fifth row next to the window.
Leave the charter flights to the important people.
A potential knock on Hornacek is he’s not enough of a jerk to be an NBA head coach. In a blog, Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley wrote that the new coach is smart and nice but asked if he can be a bad guy.
In a league full of pampered and overpaid players, Hornacek will need a new persona to succeed. But don’t be fooled into thinking that nice can’t turn into nasty in a hurry.
Hornacek isn’t going home to make friends. The way he treats people, he’s already got enough buddies to fill a stadium.
Whatever talent he has to work with, Hornacek will get the most out of it — just like he did as a player.
