A LESSON IN LIFE LOBOS' HORNER GETS HER PRIORITIES IN ORDER.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LITTLEROCK - Tia Horner was having a hard time standing out.

A rising girls' basketball star at Littlerock High, Horner became a role model while successfully keeping up her grades up and excelling in extracurricular activities outside of basketball.

But at some point, she felt as though success in those areas became expected, and the pursuit of excellence started to seem like the pursuit of the ordinary.

Then, midway through Golden League play last season, problems in her personal life caused her to lose focus on her schoolwork, eventually leading to her being declared academically ineligible.

For the first time, she stood out for the wrong reasons.

``I can't think of a time I was able to do something and people were shocked,'' Horner, now a senior, said of her experience last season. ``I'd always been in the spotlight. People were asking me after games `so are you going to Tennessee?' I just had to tell them: 'Don't worry about it, I'm not going anywhere for now.'

``It's not really embarrassing, it's sad though,'' she said. ``I'm not leaving (Littlerock) the way I thought I was.''

Horner - who attracted the interest of several prominent Division I programs including California, San Diego State and Tennessee - is off the prospect radar screen for the time being. Now her focus is putting the pieces of her once-promising career back together.

So far, so good. Horner has maintained a 3.0 grade-point average - a prerequisite for any scholarship possibility - and helped lead the Lobos to their first league title in volleyball.

Horner, an athletic 6-foot post player who's averaging 17 points and 13.3 rebounds for Littlerock (6-2), hopes to eventually play for an elite collegiate program, but these days she's leaning toward playing at junior college - likely either Antelope Valley College or Pierce of Woodland Hills - next year.

Horner acknowledged that last season's debacle was an eye-opening experience.

``It wasn't just a learning experience for me, it was a learning experience for everyone around me,'' she said.

That view is shared by teammate Dominique Calvin, who's known Horner since seventh grade..

``It was like 'what? Tia can't play?'

``It was a big shocker,'' Calvin said. ``I kind of look up to her, so it kind of motivated me and everyone else on the team to get our grades up.''

Littlerock coach John Konrad believes Horner still possesses the talent that's intrigued collegiate scouts since she was a sophomore, and that she could eventually play for an elite Div. I program.

``There's definitely something there,'' he said. ``To have the height and the body control she has is amazing.

Konrad said he partially blames himself for Horner's academic troubles last season, when he was a first-year coach. Nevertheless, he's been impressed with her progress.

``I see a more mature, a more realistic Tia Horner,'' Konrad said. ``I think with all the hype that was given to her early on, I think she bought into it and I think it distracted her.''

As costly as her experience may have been, Horner said valuable life lessons were learned.

``Regardless of what happens you still have to attend to other responsibilities,'' Horner said. ``Just because one thing goes wrong you don't have to lose hope in everything else.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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Littlerock High basketball standout Tia Horner plans to stay on the right track in the classroom.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer