Lost in Space

My view on last night's debacle-

Jamelle Horne is lost. He has been lost since the day he stepped foot on the University of Arizona campus.
While being touted as, the second coming of former Arizona great Richard Jefferson, Horne saw little to no playing time his freshman season.
While it might have been a combination of factors, such as interium head coach Kevin O'Neil, or off practices, or even pure stupidity (I'll get back to that point later), Jamelle is a bit of a mystery for Wildcat fans.
During the off-season, Horne contemplated leaving Arizona for greener pastures, leaving fans, coaches, and players alike in suspense, wondering if the team will have enough depth for the upcoming season.
Every week seemed to become a bigger and bigger soap opera with the sophomore, with doubt written across his face, and his father talking about getting his son the hell out of Dodge.
It is in my opinion that if there was this much drama with an "unknown", let him leave.
Of course, depth is the problem, and scholarship players are hard to come by.
Ultimately, Horne decides that Arizona is really the only school that wants or really needs him, and comes back with the guarantee that he will get his chance.
I'll spare you the dramatic details facing our once illustrious coach, and fast forward to Arizona's first real game against Florida Atlantic University.
The good news is, the boys did their job, and got the win.
But let us talk about the gaping hole which is Jamelle Horne.
The sophomore forward out of San Diego was lackadaisical throughout the game. Defensively, Horne dropped the ball by not pressuring anyone he was guarding. Offensively, while making baskets, Horne missed wide open looks, and passed the ball with no great importance to teammates.
While it might have been premature to start in on my criticism of players, my first thoughts on the new and improved forward was not what one would want to hear. Lazy could be the best term to describe it.
Wind the tape up to last night's game blowing intentional foul, and now you know why Horne's stupidity might have gotten in the way.
And yes, I understand that some might feel differently, and put the blame on the team's poor showing, or that Horne just made a "mistake". And believe me, I will not argue in favor of the way they played. It was bad, especially defensively, and yes, occasionally, mistakes will happen.
But the opportunity to win was less than one second away from overtime, and was stopped thanks in part to a "mistake" by a sophomore.
A sophomore. Jamelle Horne has probably been playing this game since he was old enough to walk, and he is on scholarship at a division one school. These "mistakes" as one might believe them to be, are inexcusable.
These "mistakes" should not happen, especially to someone who believes that they are too good to be at this university. These types of things do not happen to sophomores playing at the D-1 level.
I hope that there is a lesson that comes out of this. An embarrassment that will help spark the team to new heights this season, and also to help Jamelle realize that this is not all about him, but about the team.
Jamelle Horn is lost. Let us hope, through this long season, that our sophomore forward finds his way.
-JMB