The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER crease his scoring output from 13.2 to 17.0 points per game. Joiner was named a second team All-ACC selection and later signed with the Atlanta Hawks. In Horne, Keatts saw a guard with sim- ilar size and a comparable career path. Intrigued by Joiner's success, Horne de- cided to return to his home state. "Just looking at that, it looked like the golden pathway to where I was trying to get to," he said. "I just knew I was go- ing to have to put the work in if I was going to do that." While Horne en- te re d t h e sea so n with proven cre- dentials as a scorer, his previous success did not make the transition any easier. "If anything, it added pressure, just knowing about all the hype coming in [as the] 'hometown hero' and all of that," he said. "I knew there was going to be pressure to replace [Joiner]. I knew I could score, but there was a lot of talk coming in about 'Would he be able to do this in the ACC?'" Horne was able to do it. He increased his scoring output from 12.5 points per game at Arizona State to 16.8 points in his first 24 games with the Wolfpack. Heading into NC State's visit to Clem- son on Feb. 17, he was shooting 43.2 per- cent from three-point range, his highest rate since the 2020-21 season, when he was a sophomore at Illinois State. Horne was in the top five nationally in three- point percentage at one point during that campaign, and he said the current season has a similar vibe. "For some reason, it just feels like I'm tapping back into that year," he said. "When I see that first one go in, it's like the rim just keeps getting bigger and bigger every time I let it go." W h i l e H o r n e has proven he can score, he said his goal going into this season was to be- co m e m o re e f f i - cient from the field. He was shooting 43.6 percent overall through 24 games and has become more selective with his shots. Although he is picking his spots now, " For all my life, I've been playing with a chip on my shoulder, trying to prove something, prove myself to somebody. Not coming in and being told that I was 'that guy' helped me. It made me go out there and keep working. " Horne Although he grew up in Raleigh, Horne spent his first two seasons at Illinois State, then headed west to Arizona State for two years before returning home to play for the Wolfpack. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS