KEITH VAN Horn dropped by the Huntsman Center Thursday night to accept another accolade, and don't you wonder how he keeps them all straight these days? The University of Utah retired his number in a pre-game ceremony, and it was about time. Van Horn has already been out of school for six months.
Dressed in a black pin-stripe suit, looking like a million bucks (and why shouldn't he?), Van Horn, the rage of the NBA, stepped onto the court to a roaring standing ovation.
Another one.
He had been receiving ovations all night - and for that matter, all season - ever since he arrived two hours early to handle media requests. The mere act of walking into the arena while the teams were warming up drew applause. Everywhere he went he parted a flock of autograph seekers.
The ceremony began with video highlights of Van Horn's college career on the scoreboard, and then coach Rick Majerus introduced Van Horn - "The best player ever to play in this gym."
Pacing the floor, the microphone cord trailing him, Van Horn told the crowd it was great to be home and thanked coaches, trainers, teammates, fans and family for their support. More than anything he said he'll always remember the hundreds of letters he received from fans when his father died.
"You all don't know how much you mean to me," he said "This (number retirement) is the most meaningful thing that has happened to me in my basketball career."
Van Horn, an overnight sensation, the biggest thing to hit the NBA since baggy shorts and shaved heads, is leading a charmed life on the basketball court. Maybe nobody has ever had such a seamless career. It seems to unfold in front of him as easily as a road map, always the journey ending with a jersey in the rafters.
"It hasn't come as easy as people think," said Van Horn Wednesday night. "It just never really showed."
No kidding.
Even Van Horn has been taken back at times by his meteoric rise in the game. "Six months ago I was in college," he said. And 24 hours earlier he scored 30 points against the Lakers. He is the talk of the league. He is the talk of sports, period. Is there a hotter athlete in any sport anywhere? Van Horn is averaging 20 points a game in the NBA - about the same as he did for the Utes.
He is a star on the rise. For four years Ute fans watched him grow up, and now the sports world is doing the same. A mild, considerate man who seems genuinely touched by the attention and honors, Van Horn wears fame as well as that suit. One can only hope the NBA changes none of that. Meanwhile, Ute fans won't soon forget him. After all, his jersey's in the rafters.
© 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co