Keith
Van Horn's Number 44 Retired in Pre-Game CeremonyThe floor was cleared 10 minutes before the game, and coach Rick Majerus
gave the introduction. He reminded us that Keith is "a better person
than he is a player." It was very reminiscent of the speech he gave
before a sellout crowd back in March of 1997 during Senior Night. Except
unlike that evening, 
Van
Horn would not be playing (and the Utes could have really used him, too).
Majerus continued to praise Van Horn as the best player he's ever coached, and the most loving and devoted father he's ever met. When Majerus was through with his speech, a framed #44 Van Horn jersey was wheeled onto the floor and presented to Keith. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by a half-circle of camera men, so it was difficult for anyone in the arena to witness the exchange (and it made for lousy pictures).
Keith then took center stage and told a story that he had never told before in public.
He thanked all the Utah fans for supporting him and cheering for him for the four years he was a Ute. "We won lots of games in this building," he said.
"We beat BYU in this building!" he shouted, to the roar of the crowd.
"We won WAC championships in this building. And all of those things meant a lot."
But nothing was as meaningful to him as the support he received during
the most difficult week of his life - the week his father died. 
He
said that the hundreds of letters of support and well-wishing that he received
were more meaningful to him than anything else. "That meant more
to me than anything you have ever done for me on this court. I've
never said that before, and I want to tell you guys thank you."
The standing crowd gave him a long applause of "You're Welcome!"
He continued on by praising coach Rick Majerus, assistant coaches Donny Daniels, Jeff Judkins, and others. He praised his former teammates. And he thanked his family for putting up with him.
When he was through, he put away the microphone and stood quietly at the head of the team bench, holding back tears of emotion, as the 14,000 fans in attendance gave him a final standing ovation.
Keith sat behind the bench during the entire game and watched his former teammates struggle against the UTEP Miners. The crowd, which was whipped up into a frenzy, quickly fell quiet and mumbly, as the Utes had a difficult time scoring against their defensive-minded opponent.
"With Keith having his jersey retired, you'd think we'd come out inspired," said guard Drew Hansen. "We didn't, and that's a sad thing." Never did the Utes look more like they needed Van Horn. There wasn't a fan in the building who wasn't wishing that Van Horn would rip of his $1000 suit, charge down the court, and slam home an in-your-face alley-oop dunk from Andre.
But fantasies are just that.
At halftime, the four other Utes, Danny Vranes, Billy McGill, Arnie
Ferrin, and the late Vern Gardner, 
who's
numbers had, too, been lifted to the rafters (actually, to the edge of
the big white flying saucer thing above the scoreboard), were called one
by one to center court to receive glass trophies with frosted insignias
of their retired jerseys engraved on them. Vern Gardner's wife accepted
the trophy in his behalf. Van Horn was called last to receive his
trophy, which he happily accepted.
Many of the Utes including Andre Miller and Michael Doleac were very excited to play in front of their friend again. "I wanted to prove something to Keith," said Andre. "I wanted to show him I'm a better player than I was last year, and that the team has gotten better. I wanted to show him we're a pretty good team without him, even though we miss him. I had extra reason to play my best."
Majerus doesn't take much stock in winning streaks. He just likes winning - something he did a lot of with Keith on the floor. "If the Van Horn hoopla took something away from the team and even if we lost, he deserved it," Majerus said. "I wouldn't care if it cost us the game."
After the game, Keith gave Andre some pointers on his game. Andre wanted to know if Keith thought he was shooting better. Keith said that he was, but he needs to drive inside more.
Keith was mobbed by fans all night who wanted autographs and hand-shakes from the star. A small crowd of kids, including my little brother, waited for him outside the Jack Garnder tunnel, hoping he would return to sign their shirts, balls, and cards. But he never came back. He was a little overwhelmed by all the excitement and had to catch a plane.
"Six months ago I was in college," he said. And don't we all wish we (and he) were still there!
Goodbye, Keith! Have a great and fruitful NBA career, and don't forget about all us little people back here in Utah! Oh, and don't forget to graduate...
