Ep 68: Cyclone hoops alum Kantrail Horton
“I’m a loyalty guy.”
Almost everyone loves roller coasters. The thrill of the twists and turns and the ups and the downs make for an exciting ride. But just like most of our lives and athletic careers, the most exciting highs on the ride are paired with intense lows. Kantrail Horton visits the pod this week and shares his incredible ride of a career with Tim.
Growing up in Georgia, Kantrail Horton had a very successful high school career and had signed with Larry Eustachy to play at Utah State. That is until one morning morning SportsCenter told him his coach was heading to ISU. A phone call later that settled that Coach Eustachy wanted Horton to come to Ames with him… after a short detour to finish junior college out in California. Kantrail shares how growing up playing at ‘The Gate’ and his time in California shaped him as a player and man. Those twists and turns prepared Horton to be the player that Cyclones fans know and loved.
Once in Ames, Kantrail Horton joined one of the best Cyclone teams in history. This interview goes into great detail about the chemistry of playing with Cyclone greats like Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Tinsley, Stevie Johnson and Moonlighter Paul Shirley. Hortons Cyclone career was during the best stretch in ISU men’s basketball history, 1999-2001. Four wins vs. KU, 2 Big XII titles and an Elite 8 finish all standout as highlights, but perhaps most impressive is that Horton never lost a game at Hilton Coliseum.
Those career highs, and the obvious pride in his current work as a mentor and trainer, are coupled with two truly unique lows. The first was the Elite 8 loss to Mateen Cleaves and Michigan State in 2000 and then the 2 vs. 15 loss to Hampton in 2001 that you’ve heard about every March since.
Kantrail Horton is easily a favorite guest of the Moonlight Graham Show and we think you’ll see why right away. It is easy to hear his passion for basketball, his teammates and coaches, and his continued career with the game he loves in this week’s conversation.