Phoenix Guard Hornacek Proving a Point

Phoenix Sun guard Jeff Hornacek admits, “Nothing’s really been easy for me my whole basketball career.”

Sure, the points always seem to show up; his 17.9 average is third-best on the Suns. And the assists are there; he’s the all-time leader at Iowa State. Even though he’s a relatively small guard, the rebounds have been there, too; he’s averaging 4.7. “Not bad for a non-jumping, 6-3 white guy,” Hornacek cracks.

But getting a chance to put up such numbers has been the hard part.

As a high school senior in LaGrange, Ill., Hornacek averaged 20 points on a team that won regional and sectional titles. Yet few colleges sought him.

He wound up at Iowa State in 1981 as a walk-on. Playing small forward for Coach Johnny Orr, Hornacek redshirted his first year. The following season, he was awarded a scholarship and played five to six minutes a game as a backup forward.

“Then Coach Orr asked me if I could play point guard,” Hornacek said, “and I told him I played it my first two years in high school.”

Hornacek then started turning heads with his assists and scoring. And he was always working hard.

“He was an unselfish, hard worker,” Orr said. “A great shooter, a hell of a rebounder, and instincts, boy, did he have instincts for the game. He was a leader.”

Then came time for the pros. Again, few teams were interested.

“I never thought about playing in the NBA,” Hornacek said, “or let’s say it wasn’t something I was counting on. It really came down to a predraft camp in Chicago. I had a pretty good camp, and that is where the Suns saw me.”

The Suns took Hornacek in the second round of the 1986 draft. Generally, 50 percent of second-round picks don’t make their team. But as a backup point guard to Jay Humphries, Hornacek averaged 20 minutes a game his rookie year, much of that in the fourth quarter.

“I was pretty proud of the fact I played a lot in the fourth quarter,” Hornacek said. “I equated that as they had a lot of confidence in me to be out there at that time.”

Hornacek averaged 4.5 assists and 5.3 points as a rookie. His second year was even more encouraging. Still a backup, he averaged 27 minutes, 6.6 assists and 9.5 points.

Then came the drug scandal that plagued the Suns in 1987-88 and triggered a personnel shake-up. In February 1988, Cotton Fitzsimmons, then director of player personnel and now the coach, got rid of Walter Davis, Larry Nance, James Edwards and Humphries, four-fifths of the starting lineup. Fitzsimmons seemingly was trying to wipe out the drug image being tagged on the Suns.

But Hornacek stayed. “Jeff was the only guy I thought had the character and characteristics it takes to have a good team,” Fitzsimmons said.

By the end of the season, the starting lineup was Hornacek and Kevin Johnson at guard, Mark West at center and Eddie Johnson and Armon Gilliam at forward.

“When they traded Jay, I thought I would move into the starting point guard spot,” Hornacek said. “I had never seen Kevin play, but I knew he was good. Cotton told me Kevin was going to be the point guard because he was more of a penetrater. Well, that was fine because I was starting at the other guard. But I thought at least they should make him come in here and earn the point guard. They just gave it to him. I guess they knew what they were doing.”

But despite a good working relationship with Kevin Johnson and a better scoring average, Hornacek was on the bench when the 1988-89 season began. The Suns started 6-6 Dan Majerle, their top draft pick, as the No. 2 guard. But after only two games, both losses, Hornacek was back as a starter and increased his scoring average to 13.5.

Guess what? Majerle again started this season as the No. 2 guard. But it didn’t last long. Hornacek moved back into the starting lineup, and when Eddie Johnson was injured, he was asked to take up some of the scoring slack. Hornacek has responded and is sixth in field-goal percentage in the league.

Once more, it seems as though Hornacek has established himself. But for how long?

“It’s a little frustrating,” Hornacek said. “You think you proved something the year before, and then you just about have to start over again. But like I said, nothing’s really been easy for me in my basketball career. I’ve had to earn making teams, earn playing time. It’s not that big of a deal, though, as I don’t mind working hard.”