St. Columbkille Retires Brian Honan's Basketball Number
By Chris Orchard / Correspondent

Allston-Brighton Tab
Friday, April 9, 2004

Young basketball players received end-of-the-season trophies last Friday at St. Columbkille School. The also learned about a former St. Columbkille basketball great: Brian Honan.

Seven-year-old Vincent Fiore, a first-grader and a pee-wee team basketball player, was among those awarded a trophy. He also received "some rubber balls, two tattoos" and "pictures."

It made me feel "really happy," he said.

But as Fiore learned, the true rewards from playing basketball come not in the form of trophies and prizes, but in the values one takes from the game.

After handing out trophies to the pee-wee, junior varsity, varsity and senior teams, St. Collumbkille basketball retired jersey number 3 - the actual jersey worn by Brian Honan, a beloved city councilor who passed away suddenly in 2002.

St. Columbkille goes through eighth grade now, but went through high school in Honan's time.

In retiring his jersey, the school sent a message to its current basketball players, that what you learn from the game applies to life. That the values Brian Honan exhibited on the court - fairness, teamwork, dedication and hard work - are what made him a success off the court.

In basketball and in life, Brian exemplified "team spirit" and "working together," said Brian's brother, state Rep. Kevin Honan.

"Realizing that you can't advance causes without the help of many people" is part of Brian's legacy, he said.

That night, April 2, was also Brian Honan's birthday.

"It's so special to us," said Brian's sister, Clare. "It means a lot to my parents."

"It means the world to me, really," said Brian's father, Patrick Honan. "This is where he spent so many happy hours."

Clare Honan also played basketball at St. Columbkille. "I was voted most consistent player," she said. Kevin Honan played there, too, and later coached.

"We played very competitively year round," said Kevin Honan of his family.

There was "a lot of pushing and shoving," he said. "If you could survive playing basketball in my front yard, you could certainly survive" playing almost anywhere.

While Kevin and Clare were star players at St. Columbkille (Clare was a leading scorer on the women's team), Brian was great.

He was "the very best," said Michael Buckly, Brian's coach, "the best of the best. An all-star in every sense of the word."

He was a four-year starter, a Scholastic All-Star, All Catholic and a member of two championship teams. He was a member of the 1,000-point club in an era before three-pointers.

According to then-athletic director Leo Buckly (Michael's father), Brian was "liked by his teammates, his opponents, the officials and fans."

Brian was an "outstanding person," he said, a "gentleman."

"I like to think of the good side of what's happened to Brian," he said: At the gates of Heaven, St. Peter passes Brian a basketball and tells him to shoot. Brian makes the shot. "Good shot," says the Lord, "you're on my team."

Brian's friends were on hand to celebrate the retiring of his number.

"He would have been very proud to be here," said Joe Cremens. He was a "very, very special and true friend to all of us."



"Brian was always a leader," said John Hoffman, a teammate. "To me he was a friend. He was a mentor."

Hoffman tells a story that exemplifies Brian's character on the basketball team:
During one game Brian had a high fever; "He had to beg his mother to come to the game," said Hoffman.

"At halftime, Brian had at least 16 points." However, St. Columbkille was down by a similar number. When he came into the locker room at halftime, Brian had a tremendous fever.

"Coach came in. He sort of looked at Brian. He looked at us. He said, 'look at Honan out there ... the rest of you guys have to pick it up some!'" (Coach used stronger words at the time, said Hoffman).

In the end, St. Columbkille won the game.

The dedication and perseverance exhibited by Brian Honan on the court that day stuck with him.

"It was through sports that Brain learned many of the skills he used in life," said Kevin Honan.

"There are heroes and champions in sports, and there are heroes and champions in life," said Father Shmaruk of St. Columbkille, "and Brian was both."

The young players who received trophies that night could learn a lot from old number 3, both about basketball and life.