Jonathon Kelly Horford (born October 16, 1991) is an American professional basketball player. He played four years with the Michigan Wolverines ending with the 2013–14 team and then transferring to the Florida Gators for the 2014–15 season. He was an All-State high school basketball player for Grand Ledge High School in Michigan. His father Tito Horford, and brother Al Horford, have both played in the National Basketball Association.
Early years
Horford is the son of Elizabeth and Tito Horford. His father was the first player born in the Dominican Republic to play in the NBA. His older brother, Al, led the Florida Gators to NCAA basketball championships in 2006 and 2007, and was the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Horford attended the 2007 NCAA Tournament at the Georgia Dome to watch his brother. Horford played high school basketball at Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Michigan where he was selected as a first-team Class A All-State player in 2010 by the Associated Press, The Detroit News, and the Detroit Free Press. His younger brother Josh Horford played for the Grand Ledge High School basketball team.
College career
Michigan
In March 2010, Horford verbally committed to play college basketball at the University of Michigan, choosing Michigan over California and Providence. He signed a letter of intent two weeks later at the opening of the spring signing period on April 14.
As a freshman, Horford appeared in 29 games for the 2010–11 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He totaled 11 blocked shots, good for second place on the Michigan team behind Jordan Morgan. He also totaled 58 rebounds as he helped the team to a 21–14 record.
As a sophomore, Horford gained 30 pounds (from 220 to 250 pounds), raising expectations that he would become a more dominant player. Early in the season, he appeared in nine games for the 2011–12 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He scored a career-high 12 points, all in the first half, against UCLA at the Maui Invitational Tournament on November 23, 2011. In early December, he sustained a stress fracture to his right foot that resulted in his missing the final 25 games of the season. Horford was granted a medical redshirt due to the injury.
As a redshirt sophomore, Horford appeared in 28 games and averaged 9.2 minutes per game for the 2012–13 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He missed five games after sustaining a knee injury in a December 15 game against West Virginia. Horford blocked three shots on two separate occasions, against Arkansas on December 8, 2012, and against Northwestern on January 30, 2013. In mid-March, he scored a season-high 11 points in Michigan's 83–66 victory over Penn State in the Big Ten tournament. He totaled 16 blocks for the season, ranking fourth on the team behind Mitch McGary (24), Trey Burke (18), and Tim Hardaway Jr. (17).
As Michigan advanced to the 2013 Final Four at the Georgia Dome, Horford drew attention for his interest in reading ancient Chinese texts. In the locker room after Michigan's overtime victory over Kansas, Horford was in a corner of the locker room reading "Tao Te Ching", a Chinese text written around the 6th century BC. Horford's older brother, Al, who had played for Florida's back-to-back national championship teams, expressed pride: "It's just exciting. He was here watching me a few years ago going through the Final Four in Atlanta and now here's here, so we're super excited." The 2013 final four was at the same Georgia Dome that Al had won the championship at in 2007. Michigan reached the championship game.