Buffs Film Room: What is CU getting with transfer forward Jeriah Horne?

There’s a new Colorado Buffalo.

Former Tulsa forward Jeriah Horne is headed to Boulder as a graduate transfer. Horne figures to slot in as the Buffs’ new starting power forward, replacing Tyler Bey. He will have one year of eligibility at Colorado.

Horne and Bey are not the same player. In many ways, they couldn’t play the power forward position more differently. Despite that, Horne looks to be a solid veteran addition who can help keep the Buffaloes in the top tier of the Pac-12.

Horne grew up in Kansas City, where he was a three-star power forward prospect and ranked 43rd at his position in the 2016 class. He signed with Nebraska, declining offers from Depaul, West Virginia, Missouri and others.

Horne cracked Nebraska’s regular rotation in December of his rookie season and posted five double-digit scoring games, despite averaging under five points per contest.

Here’s a clip from the first time Horne played 20 minutes of meaningful college basketball:

That’s an athletic play and a remarkable finish, but Horne is actually known as more of a shooter than a driver.

Horne transferred to Tulsa after his freshman season. Following a game during his sophomore season, UConn head coach Dan Hurley had this to say about Horne:

“Defensively, we did a horrible job on Horne,” Hurley said, according to a Tulsa World story on Horne. “To allow a guy who’s a one-dimensional, catch-and-shoot player to have that many good looks — it spoke to how we weren’t locked in.”

That was Horne’s reputation, and it’s easy to see why; Horne shot over 37 percent from deep as a sophomore, though that number fell to 34 percent as a junior this season.

Horne’s game has developed since the game against UConn.

Today we’re going to be digging into Horne’s tape at Tulsa. Specifically, we’ll be using clips from a January contest against No. 20 Memphis, in which Tulsa upset the Tigers.

Horne — who wears No. 41 — led the way with 21 points in 32 minutes, while shooting 3-of-8 from three and 6-of-8 from two. He also contributed eight rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

If you have 90 minutes to kill, feel free to watch the full game here:

Horne’s known for his catach-and-shoot ability, so let’s start there.

In this first clip, Horne waits in the corner for space to develop up top, then he takes it. Notice how he waits a step or two beyond the arc so that he can step into his shot.

That’s a good-looking jumper.

Horne’s development as a basketball player has mostly hinged on his mental development. He isn’t the most athletic power forward, but he’s big, he’s strong, he’s a good shooter and he has an incredibly high basketball IQ.

At this point, Horne plays a veteran style of basketball. He’s crafty. He’s savvy. He’s clever. He’s creative.

Those are the words you’ll be hearing a lot of next season, in regards to Jeriah Horne.

Let’s jump back into the game.

At this point, Horne hasn’t taken a 3-pointer yet, but he’s likely on Memphis’ scouting report as Tulsa’s top threat from deep and he’s coming into the game having made at least half of his shots in three-straight contests. It’s safe to say that taking away his opportunities from deep has been made a priority.

Here’s the clip:

My adjective for that play is crafty, but feel free to pick your own.

Horne spaces himself like he’s about to take the shot. He looks at the rim like he’s taking the shot. He steps forward like he’s taking the shot. Then he fakes, dribbles and looks at the rim like he’s finally taking the shot, but instead he dishes the ball to his wide-open teammate.

The above clip exemplifies what Horne will bring to the Buffs more than any other in this film room, so rewatch it as many times as you need to.

This next clip shows Horne’s creativity as well, but it’s also kind of confusing.

If you’re feeling generous, you can give him credit for a crafty pass.

The bad news is that Horne turned the ball over five times in this game, so it’s fair to question his judgment on this play.

The good news for Horne is that the pass worked out.

The extra good news is that Horne set a new career-high in turnovers in this game and he actually averaged just 1.3 per game this season. He almost made up for the turnovers with his 1.0 steal per game.

Horne only put up 1.4 assists per game this year, but his passing ability would lead you to expect more.

Take a look at another one of his passes in this game:

That’s an opening that very few professional basketball players would’ve found, let alone college kids. Take an extra note on just how calm Horne is when he is faced with a double team.

It’s also worth noticing that the pass isn’t right on the money. Part of that is on the shooter, who should be exactly as high as Horne is. If anything, he should drift toward the corner instead of up the court.

Either way, the pass is still low. That falls on Horne, even if he expected his shooter to be somewhere else.

It’s nit-picking to knock Horne on such an incredible play, but the truth is that a pass on the money may have been the difference between zero points and three points.

Next up is one last clip of Horne’s passing.

First, notice his spacing on the break. He keeps himself on the other end of a passing lane, and he would’ve been even more open if the ball-handler would’ve pushed hard to the rim like McKinley Wright IV likely woul’ve.

Then, watch Horne call for the postup and put the ball where only his guy could grab it.

Just a good clean possession from a veteran player.

Here’s something a little more flashy:

What. A. Finish.

This guy is crafty.

Up next is another, much simpler finish.

Horne has a huge size advantage, so he bodies up his defender and shoots right over him.

Again, it’s the smoothness of what Horne does that jumps out. There’s no panic, there’s no rush, Horne just gets the job done.

Here’s a similar play, but this time things don’t work out so well.

Horne sees an opening develop in the middle of the court, so he takes the space. It’s the right move and all of a sudden there’s a three-on-two, if Tulsa can move quickly enough.

Horne’s best course of action would have been to draw the post defender and dish the ball off to his teammate in the post. When the slide comes from the perimeter, the player with the ball in the post could have passed out to the corner for an open three, but even that may have been covered by the time the ball got there.

Instead, Horne shoots over the guard trapped in the post but can’t get the ball over the big man who is recovering. It may not have been the wrong decision, but it didn’t pan out.

This is one instance where Horne’s lack of elite athleticism held him back. Horne was on the way down when the ball came out of his hand and with a couple more inches on his vertical, Horne could have gotten the shot off.

Although he isn’t perfect — and is dissimilar to the man he is replacing, Tyler Bey — Horne should be a plus offensive player in the Pac-12 and slotting him in next to Evan Battey gives the Buffs the best passing frontcourt in the conference.

Defensively, Horne’s lack of elite athleticism holds him back as a shot-blocker, but he should still serve as a plus defender in the Pac-12. Again, it’s his IQ, instincts and general veteran savvy that make up for the lack of explosion.

Tulsa’s defense is complicated. It’s an Amoeba Zone, which basically means it morphs from 2-3 Zone to 3-2 Zone to man, depending on where the ball is and where the ball is going.

First off, running such a complex scheme should make Horne adaptable to the Buffs’ comparatively-simple, man-heavy scheme.

It is fair, however, to question whether playing in such a complex scheme helped to cover for Horne’s athletic limitations.

In the clip below, Horne switches onto No. 55 Precious Achiuwa, a one-and-done forward who is a projected lottery pick. Horne is listed as two inches shorter than Achiuwa.

Horne, who is giving up athleticism but is much stronger than the freshman, bodies Achiuwa up in the post. Somebody pokes the ball out and

Then, when a guard flies by a jump-shooter on a pump fake, Horne closes out for the contest.

When watching Horne defensively, there aren’t a lot of moments that stand out. He’s good on that end of the floor, but is more of a 30-second stalwart than a guy who is going to make highlight reels.

Here’s another clip of Horne battling against Achiuwa.

This time, Horne uses his savvy to stay in front of the big man and contest the shot without fouling. It’s textbook stuff.

Here’s another clip that shows Horne’s ability to stay in front of a more athletic ball-handler.

Horne doesn’t give the offensive player any sort of look at the basket.

When he gets the ball back, the offensive player knows he won’t get anything from Horne if he drives, so he settles for a jump shot, which Horne contests.

Beautiful stuff, even if there wasn’t a swat at the end.

If you’re still looking for more Jeriah Horne content, check out his attempt in the 2020 Nationwide 3-Point Shooting Contest: