By Christopher McLaughlin
After missing all of last season because of an injury, junior forward Ken Horton has returned to form and has played a major role in the Blue Devils winning season.
“It feels good to win games,” said Horton. “It was more of a mental thing getting back, but I know what I’m supposed to do and I try to do it every night. After taking the year off, coming back to be a part of the team and winning games is all I could ask for.”
Horton is averaging 18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds leading not only the Blue Devils, but the entire NEC, in both categories. Should he finish the season still on top in both of the categories he will be only the fifth player in NEC history to accomplish that feat.
All season long Horton has been a consistent presence for the Blue Devils and has been a driving factor to the teams success. He was an integral part of CCSU’s comeback over Fairleigh Dickinson and led the team to victory in overtime. His play in that game, and the game against Monmouth, saw him awarded the Hotel Choice Player of the week award for the second time this season. During the week Horton averaged 25.5 points and 12 rebounds.
“The award shows a lot of work, but I don’t take it personal. Coach always said that when a player wins an award it’s a team award because it means the team also did well,” said Horton.
While some players are never the same following a major injury, Horton has shown no adverse affects. He is actually playing the best basketball of his career. In addition to leading the NEC in points and rebounds, he is in the top 10 of six other categories including blocks, steals and field goal percentage. He has scored 30 plus twice this season which puts him at the top of the active players in the NEC in this category. His six 20 plus games this season have also put him at the head of that list as well.
Horton has been a scoring machine this season and recently joined another elite class of players. On December 22, Horton became the 33rd player in CCSU history to record his 1,000 career point. Horton joins teammate Shemik Thompson, who also scored his 1,000 point this season, and the two of them have been rapidly moving up the list of CCSU’s all time scorers. If Horton keeps up his average he will be in the top 15 by the end of the season.
“It feels good to be a part of history,” said Horton. “But more importantly its real nice having the pressure off my back, its nice to be able to concentrate on my play instead of having everybody talking about one-thousand points.”
Having a player of Horton’s caliber is every coach’s dream. While Coach Dickenman knew Horton would take a little to get back to form he is pleased he was able to do so quickly.
“Our staff is very comfortable whenever he has a shot,” said Dickenman. “We feel that he is as good as any player in the NEC right now.”
While Horton has won awards and made history this season, he knows that it means little in the grand scheme of things. Horton is a true team player and to him the performance of the team outweighs his individual accomplishments. With March looming the intensity is picking up and Horton wants his team to be prepared.
“Personally I would love to win the NEC, but as a team we take it game by game. If we win great and if it’s a loss we take it and try to build upon it,” said Horton.
With the season entering its final month, Horton and the Blue Devils are in prime position to make some noise in the NEC. The team is currently in second place in the conference and will continue to battle as it fights for home court advantage in the NEC Tournament.
