Jeff Hornacek

Jeffrey John "Jeff" Hornacek (pronounced HOR-NA-SECK; born 3 May 1963 in Elmhurst, Illinois) is a former NBA basketball player who played at the shooting guard position from 1986-2000. Known primarily as one of the last consummate, or pure, shooters in basketball, he won the NBA 3-point competition twice, and along with Natalie Williams, star of the Utah Starzz, won the All-Star 2-Ball Challenge.

A walk-on at Iowa State University (ISU), from 1982-1986, this son of a high school basketball coach became an all-conference player in the Big Eight Conference (now the Big Twelve). As a point guard he guided the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the 1985-1986 season. His shinning moment came at the Minneapolis Metrodome when, after first hitting a shot to tie the game and send it to overtime, Jeff hit the game winning shot in overtime, a 26-ft jumper at the buzzer, to give ISU its first NCAA tournament victory since 1944, beathing Miami University of Ohio, 14 March 1986, 91-79 (Ron Harper was the starting shooting guard for Miami-Ohio). He left ISU with a Big-8 record of 665 career assists, still a Iowa State school record, and 1,313 career points.

He was the 22^nd pick in the 2^nd round (46^th overall) of the 1986 NBA Draft, by the Phoenix Suns. After six complete seasons he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley in 1992, he further refined his shooting touch, and two-thirds of the way through the 1993-1994 season (24 February) he traded to the Utah Jazz for Jeff Malone. Hornacek was also one of the best on offense in the NBA in moving without the ball, something essential for a shooting guard. He was an instrumental part of the Jazz's drive to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, which they lost to the Chicago Bulls, and remained with them until knee problems finally forced his retirement in 2000. On 23 November 1994, he set an NBA record 8 consecutive 3-pointers in a single game without a miss against the Seattle SuperSonics. That same season, he also tied an NBA record 11 consecutive 3-pointers without a miss, from 30 December 1994 through 11 January 1995.

One of the best free throw shooters in the league, once making 67 in a row (12 November 1999-to-6 January 2000), he perhaps most famously known for wiping his face three times before every free throw. That was his way of saying "hello" to his three children, Ryan, Tyler and Abigale, during the game. Career free-throw percentage of .877 (9^th all-time in NBA history).

Hornacek's #14 jersey was retired by the Utah Jazz, for whom he played from 1994 to 2000, and helped get them to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. Coach Jerry Sloan referred to Jeff affectionately as "Horny".

He currently resides in Salt Lake City with his wife Stacy, and their children. There has been extensive speculation that he will eventually return to basketball as a coach at either the high school, college, or professional levels, but, as of yet, this speculation remains merely that.

Stats

• Height: 6' - 3"
• Weight: 190 lb
• High School: Lyons Township (La Grange, Cook County, Illinois)
• Iowa State Records:
  • Career assists: 665
  • Career steals: 211
  • Career complete games: 30
  • Season assists: 219 (1985-1986; 2^nd w/198 1983-1984)
  • Season, assists per-game average: 6.83 (1984; 2^nd w/6.63 - 1986)
• NBA Totals:
  • Games: 1,077
  • Minutes Played: 33,959
  • Points: 15,659
  • Assists: 5,281
  • Steals: 1,536

Transactions

• 17 June 1986: Selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 22^nd pick in the 2^nd round (46^th pick overall) of the 1986 NBA Draft.
• 17 June 1992: Traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley by the Phoenix Suns along with Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.
• 24 February 1994: Traded to the Utah Jazz for Jeff Malone and a 1994 first-round draft choice, by the Philadelphia 76ers with Sean Green and a 1995 or 1996 second-round draft choice.
• 16 May 2000: Announced at the beginig of the season that it would be his last, after the Jazz lose to the Portland Trailblazers in game five (Portland won the series 4 games to 1) of the Western Conference semifinals, Jeff, at age 37, retires from the NBA.

External links

• Jeff's page @ NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jeff_hornacek/bio.html)
• Horncek @ Basketball-Reference.com (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hornaje01.html)