ritz
Years ago

Interesting Read About Horvath @ Duke

DURHAM, N.C. - With the way players pass through major college basketball like it's a rest stop on the turnpike to the NBA, seniors have nearly become an extinct species on the rosters of the national power programs.

Though late to the table of early departures, Duke has been far from immune to the trend. Corey Maggette left after one year in Durham, Elton Brand after two and Carlos Boozer after three, just to mention a few.

Duke restocked with six scholarship freshmen the season after Brand and Maggette helped the Blue Devils to the 1999 Final Four, and only half that class reached senior status four years later.

But one member of the Super Six still hasn't left town. When Duke began practice for the 2003-04 season on Friday at midnight, Nick Horvath joined a club even more exclusive than the league of senior citizens. This is Horvath's fifth preseason training camp, a distinction that can be claimed by just a handful of basketball players in Duke history.

"It's a little weird being back," says the 6-foot-10 forward from Minnesota. "It's not just my teammates I came in with that are gone, it's all the kids on campus, my whole class. There are a few football and track guys still here from freshman year, but they are few and far between."

Horvath is believed to be just the fifth scholarship Duke basketball player to return for a fifth season, and he could become the first to letter a fifth time. The only others who've been on the team for five full seasons are Nate James, Trajan Langdon and Matt Christensen. James and Langdon earned fifth years due to medical hardships, while Christensen redshirted for a season after returning to campus following a Mormon mission.

Former point guard Kenny Blakeney was on the team for parts of five seasons, including a redshirt freshman season, but he missed the bulk of one season due to an academic suspension. Horvath's freshman classmate and former walkon Andy Borman joins him on the Duke roster this season but it's not his fifth year on the team; he didn't play last year.

There are only two other fifth-year seniors in the entire ACC this year: oft-injured Virginia guard Majestic Mapp and Florida State's Mike Mathews, who was a partial qualifier academically as a freshman and still practiced with the team though he couldn't play.

Horvath and Borman came in with Boozer, Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Casey Sanders and Andre Buckner. Boozer, Williams and Dunleavy went to the NBA after three years, while Sanders and Buckner graduated after four. The other seniors on this year's team are point guard Chris Duhon and former walkon Andy Means.

Like James and Langdon, Horvath obtained his fifth year due to injury. He sustained a foot ailment his sophomore year and was able to appear in just six games. Though unavailable for action, he made major contributions behind the scenes for Duke's national championship club that year and received a varsity letter, as well as a medical redshirt season.

Now he is 22 years old and fully prepared to offer whatever guidance he can to a relatively young but hungry cast of Blue Devils. This year's team includes six sophomores and two freshmen.

"I like this role much more than being the young guy," he admitted. "Being the older brother, being the guy that's seen it all and can tell everyone what to expect. The guys on this team are really great. This is one of the closest teams I've ever been on, where there's no cliques and no guys who don't like each other. We all get along real well and there's no cancers.

"It reminds me a lot of the year we won it. When I was a freshman we had a lot of young guys, then my sophomore year we had some experience and got it together. I hope this will be a year like that where we put it all together."

But Horvath is after more than a national championship this year. He recently submitted his application for a Rhodes Scholarship. If selected, he would become the first Duke basketball player to earn the prestigious honor. Only three other athletes in school history have been Rhodes Scholars -- football's Rex Adams (1961), field hockey's Virginia Seitz (1978) and wrestling's John Sauer (1997).

An avid reader and writer, Horvath would pursue postgraduate studies in English and already knows one of the topics he would like to investigate.

"I want to study the history of heroism and courage in literature, fictional heroes and real life heroes, the definition of courage and the role of heroes in peoples' lives and how they motivate," he said. "It sort of ties together my life as an athlete and my life as a student and it's something I'm interested in."

Horvath has a fictional story scheduled for publication this month in the Duke Libraries Journal. Academically, he is using his fifth year to complete two undergraduate majors, English and physics. He added physics after receiving the medical hardship season. He could have graduated last year but opted to spread out his major requirements so he didn't have to take too many demanding physics classes during basketball season.

His schedule this semester includes courses in mathematical logic, Shakespeare and writing, while next semester he has a final English class and a final physics requirement -- "an electronics lab course where you build circuits and stuff."

Horvath used his final college offseason to build his own physical circuitry. Aside from a trip to New York, he spend most of his time at home in Minnesota lifting weights five days a week, then traveling upstate near the Canadian border on weekends to help his parents build a house on Lake Superior. He was listed at 235 pounds last year but says he is between 255 and 260 now. His upper body is noticeably more chiseled.

"It helps me on the court," he said. "I've never been a speed demon or the most athletic. With this extra weight it helps me play more at my pace. The coaches have told me if I can play at a pace where I'm always in control, that's when I'm at my best. With this weight I feel I can do that. I can hold my ground easier and be more physical without trying to be explosive.

"I make sure every day I lift that I also get on the court and shoot. That's a key. If you lift and shoot at the same time, your shot sort of adjusts with your body, whereas if you don't shoot and you lift for three straight months, you are going to have a different body and it's going to be a different feel."

Horvath's outside shot bounced back a little last year after rocky times his sophomore and junior seasons, and it was his best year statistically. His first game this year will mark his 100th Duke appearance, but he is concerned with much more than filling up the columns in a box score.

"I think I've seen everything there is to see, so for my fifth and final year I just want to be a leader on and off the court," he said. "When I'm on the court I want to be a solid contributor and play the way I know I'm capable of playing.

"I'm comfortable now, but it's taken a long time to get here. I've developed in every way at Duke. I'm more outgoing, I'm more headstrong, I have better leadership qualities, I know I'm in control of my destiny. I feel like once I leave Duke, I can go into whatever field I want and do well, so it's shaped me into the person I am."

Topic #8738 | Report this topic


ritz  
Years ago

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=146433&SPID=1845&SPSID=22724

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Anonymous  
Years ago

it must kinda hurt seeing a lot of the other guys break the NBA but him missing out.

Reply #98067 | Report this post


John Lawrence  
Years ago

Nick has the talent and heart to get a shot in the NBA... just takes a GM with enough brains and smarts to take him and give him a fair go, as he is better than some of the players who get contracts in the big show, and get way overpaid. Nick earns his $$$.

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Skyhook  
Years ago

I was wondering why it got blocked before ? was it a copyright issue ?

or a word that automatically set off the "forum posting machine guns" ?

Good read . Interesting guy.

Reply #98085 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

A name that set off the filter.

Reply #98089 | Report this post


XY  
Years ago


Skyhook, I was looking for something really juicy after that! Oh well, good read, and he doesn't fail to impress both on and off the court.

Reply #98091 | Report this post


Sector 7G  
Years ago

A great read. Interesting and multi dimensioned guy. And can play a little bit too!!
Great to have him at the 36ers.
Helps give us the character we BADLY need.

Reply #98649 | Report this post




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