Greeley's Honig To 'Hon'e Skills At Next Stop

In his final season of high school basketball, Horace Greeley's Adam Honig went from key contributor to three-point assailant. His emergence as a sniper ran parallel with Greeley's ascent to the Westchester County's upper crust.

A 6-foot-1 off guard, the onus was on Honig to lead by action on the hardwood anda vocal presence  off it.

That he did.

The senior helped spearhead the Quakers to a 15-5 overall record, one of the finest seasons in recent memory.

Coach Dave Fernandez often likened the 2009-10 Quakers to the Reyn Garnet and Sean O'Brian-led Greeley team of the early 2000s, which earned a berth in the Sectional 1 Final Four at the County Center.

How did Honig prepare for his senior season?

He gauged his game against stiff competition on the AAU circuit.

His emergence as an innate workout fiend certainly helped.

Simply put, Honig was hell-bent on giving Greeley some Section-wide visibility. That was one of his goals, written out on the chalkboard even before his senior season began.

Playing alongside Matt Townsend, the goal was not to meet expectations but to crush them.

Townsend, the versatile go-to guy and school valedictorian chose Yale over a bevy of Ivy League programs.

Honig's workaday program, which involved a steady diet of weight room work and plyometrics, helped augment his vertical.

Partly at his coach's urging and partly at his own motivation, Honig became more aggressive in all facets of his game.

This season Honig developed an aerial attack, displaying some springy hops.

Suddenly, Honig was finishing in authoritative fashion. As his desire to leak out on the fast break and finish above the rim ballooned, so did his defensive energy.

"I think he got a little bit more intense on defense," said Fernandez.

"He could defend last year, but this year he was more motivated to play defense. Adam got a lot stronger in his legs and really hit the weight room."

Both coach and player wanted it that way.

This year's Greeley savored the team concept, as Fernandez illustrated.

A group of vastly different personalities solved the chemistry experiment early on. And so Greeley has reaped the rewards of sacrificing individual shine for the greater good.

It wasn't always that way at Greeley, which was embroiled in a jarringly ugly player-coach controversy back in 2005 (yawn).

"I knew I had to step my game up not only for myself but for the team," said Honig, who will prolong his career at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.

"I had one year to do it. I really wanted to take on some ownership of the team."

Honig established himself as one of Section I's most lethal shooters. His perimenter presence was vital to Greeley's half-court attack.

 This was evident when Honig drilled six three-pointers against Pelham, outgunning everyone in the gym.

Honig again morphed into the mad bomber at Rye. He drained six three-pointers, feeling it from the early stages of the first quarter, en route to a career-best 37 points.

"I would say that Adam was one of the best shooters I've ever coached," said Fernandez, the longtime Quakers coach.

"He's definitely in that caliber of shooters. He's one of the more consistent shooters we've had here."

Honig is the kid who dissected Peekskill's 2-3 zone during the Red Devils' Invitational tournament, with hordes of Red Devils fans trying to get on him.

Honig finished with 20 points in that one. The Quakers looked to play the role of spoiler by denying the Red Devils their record 50th straight home win.

Their upset-bid fell short, however, as All-State guard Daequan Brickhouse buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer while spiraling to the ground.

The Quakers defeated California-based Narbonne in the semi-final.

 The venerable Fernandez joked that Honig was once the kid who "only plays half the game" in the beginning of the season. After the Peekskill game, Fernandez spoke in length about Honig's commitment to shedding defensive criticisms.

The inside-outside tandem of Honig and Townsend helped propel Greeley back to relevance.

"Matt and I do workouts not only in practice but outside practice, we also play AAU a little bit together. We've been around each other's games a while now," said Honig.

"We're one of the best duos in the Section, arguably. He's so good on the inside but also he knows how to come outside, set screens, and come off pick-and-rolls effectively. We were clicking all season."

That season would culminate with a 76-51 loss to Mount Vernon,  regal hoops real estate around these here parts.

The loss was aching, albeit Honig tried not to let it consume his mind.

Honig, who said he tries not to harp on wins and losses as a player, admitted there was some relief learning that Mount Vernon was the eventual Section I champ.

"It put things in perspective," Honig said.

 "It was a tough loss, but it was a loss to a very talented team."

Against Mount Vernon, Greeley encountered a buzz saw in Knights junior guard Jabarie Hinds. The blur-quick Hinds is known for a fusillade of step back jumpers, slashing, and creating.

Rick and Richard Pitino were recently guests for one of Hinds' home games, as he's sprouted into one of the country's most desired recruits.

 Hinds was the catalyst against Greeley, submitting a game-high 33 points.

"Jabarie and I have been playing AAU together for four years, so I really know his game a lot," said Honig, who averaged 22.7 points during a four-game span in early January.

"I know obviously how good he is.  I know how much winning means to him and that program. I knew he was going to come hard. I think, if there is a way to go out your senior year, I'm glad it's against Mount Vernon because the atmosphere is crazy. It's always good to play at a gym like that."

The Quakers appeared ready for the challenge in the opening moments. Mount Vernon's ferocious pressure and full throttle transition game then created fits.  Greeley's upset chances had been deaded by the third quarter, when Hinds threaded through defenders and surged to the rim with ease.

It was miles and miles from a one-man clinic.

"We played well that game, but I think they were a little too deep for us," said Honig.

The past is over.

Next Stop: Dickinson.

It was Honig's relationship with coach Alan Seratti which helped lure him in.

With the opportunity to earn meaningful minutes from very start staring him down, Honig wasted no time.

"The recruiting process was a long and frustrating experience for me, but I think this is the right place for me," said Honig.

"It's a place where I can step in right away and contribute so I'm excited about it."

So is Fernandez.

"Adam's got very good discipline in the off-season," Fernandez said. "I actually think Adam's best basketball days are ahead of him."