February Athlete of the Month: Conor Higgins

Name: Conor Higgins

Sport: Boys Basketball

Grade: Junior

Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Recent team results: Lost to Pascack Hills 71-46 on Friday

Conor Higgins has always put in the work to get better. Whether it is playing AAU basketball in the offseason or training and lifting while no one was watching; he has earned his success on the basketball court this year. 

“I started playing basketball in the St Johns clinics when I was in kindergarten,” Higgins said. “Since I have football in the summer, I am still training and lifting every day. I try to get to as many basketball summer league games as I can to maintain my skills.” 

During the off-season, Conor is constantly working on improving his game. This amount of extra work and effort he puts into himself really shows his devotion and love for the sport. 

This hard work doesn’t come out of nowhere as he has a family background of athletics, with his parents having played basketball growing up and his sister being a volleyball starter.

In addition to his success on the basketball court, he is a slot wide receiver for the varsity football team and played a large role in the team’s run to the state sectional semifinals.

His success in both football and basketball hasn’t been a smooth ride. Just like many athletes, he has gone through challenges and obstacles in his career. One of the common obstacles for all athletes, including Higgins, was COVID-19.

“We really had to work hard this year after the shortened season last year,” Conor said. “The majority of our team is underclassmen and they didn’t get the full season to prepare like they should have. Our guys really worked hard this year and have taken everything they could get.”

Conor is clearly recognized as a part of the team’s success with getting through COVID-19. Not just COVID-19, but it seems that his personality and way of doing things could get the team through any hardship they might find themselves in.

“People gravitate towards him nowadays,” Coleman said. “Conor has that ability to bring people together with his personality and they all like being around him.”

The amount of work that the team has put into overcoming this obstacle definitely has shown, with the team being at a current record of 11-10, despite starting off the season 0-4. They will look to make a run in the state tournament against the 2nd seeded Tenafly at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Tenafly High School. 

“Basketball has developed me [into] who I am today because I’ve learned to be more patient and I’ve realized how important it is to pay attention to [the] little details,” Higgins said. 

These characteristics have been generated by both himself and his coach who he shares a special connection with. 

“Coach Coleman and I are very close both on and off the court. We have a cool relationship because we have a lot of laughs outside of basketball but also know when it’s time to focus and get serious, especially during games,” Higgins said.

Having this relationship with Coach Coleman helps Conor play with more precision and accuracy. 

Coach Coleman seems to definitely agree about their relationship, which is a great thing to have as a player and coach.

“I have a great relationship with Conor. Conor is kind of a throwback, by that I mean he is very interested in everything, in addition to basketball,” Coleman said. “We have a lot of great conversations outside of just basketball. He is really a pleasure to be around and I hope to get more like him.”

Coach Coleman praises Conor’s ability to lead by example and his outstanding traits as a worker and a teammate.