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The Colorado Buffaloes have landed their next starting power forward. On Thursday, Tulsa graduate transfer Jeriah Horne announced that he is committing to the Buffs.
I am honored to announce that for my last basketball season I will be joining the Colorado Buffaloes.
— Jeriah Horne (@JeriahHorne1) April 9, 2020
A big S/O to my family, friends, coaches, and, most importantly, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate my birthday. Go Buffs!! pic.twitter.com/QOVId6tbpt
This is an outstanding get for Tad Boyle, who had to replace NBA-bound Tyler Bey with an immediate starter. The 6’7, 225-lbs. forward started for Tulsa this past season and was a major bench player the year. In those two seasons he averaged 10.6 points and 5 rebounds per game, all while shooting over 35% from three (he’s an even better shooter than that). With solid size and length, Horne is also a terrific team defender, as he had a 94.0 defensive rating on Frank Heath’s AAC-winning squad.
Before playing at Tulsa, Horne was a 3-star recruit who played one year at Nebraska. He saw the light, however, and eventually made his way to Boulder.
This news is somewhat surprising, as Colorado had to beat out other top-flight programs from Horne’s commitment. According to Adam Munsterteiger, he had interest from Dayton, Xavier, Georgetown, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.
Horne should enter the season as the Buffs’ projected starter. He will round out a forward rotation with returning starters D’Shawn Schwartz and Evan Battey, Dallas Walton, incoming freshman Jabari Walker, and Alex Strating.
The Buffs had three open scholarships to fill after Tyler Bey, Daylen Kountz and Jakub Dombek left the program. Horne and Walker filled two of those, but Boyle can still be aggressive for a high school senior or graduate transfer.