Grant Greabell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon Honors for AZPreps365.com

Horizon Honors hasn’t won on the court and has lost some players due to COVID-19, but the Eagles remain confident.

Horizon Honors got about a month of practice before the season and only one week where the whole team was together.

“We haven’t played an organized game since February … almost an entire calendar year,” said coach Chris Henderson.

With such a young team, Henderson said the Eagles needed time to gel before the start of the season.

Junior guard Quinn Cook, who plays a pivotal role, has only been available for the first game of the season, after participating in a volleyball tournament after that game. He must quarantine for two weeks before he can return to the team. He will return for their game on Feb. 9 against Rancho Solano Prep.

That is if they can play that game. A player on Horizon Honors has tested positive for COVID-19. If everyone else tests negative, they can play against Rancho.

If everyone were to not get tested and complete their quarantine, the Eagles would be eligible to return on Feb. 10 against Bourgade Catholic. In the meantime, the program is shutdown.

Don’t take any of these setbacks as excuses, though. Henderson was adamant their 0-5 start is on them. He thinks they need to keep playing hard and execute down the stretch better to turn their season around. Despite the recent struggles, he remains confident.

Like his coach, captain Ben Brady didn’t make any excuses.

“In my four years here, this hasn’t been the most successful team yet, but it is the hardest-working team with the best chemistry in my experience,” said Brady.

One aspect of high school hoops that has changed in Arizona is the implementation of mask-wearing during games.

“It’s been a change for sure, but we are just glad to have a season,” said junior guard Alec Brown.

Henderson made it clear his team would do whatever it had to do to play.