Great Hearts Northern Oaks Senior Caden Collins Scores 2,000th Career Point

Great Hearts Northern Oaks senior and basketball standout, Caden Collins, reached a remarkable milestone, scoring his 2,000th career varsity point.

Collins’ decision to attend Great Hearts Northern Oaks was driven by his family’s commitment to a classical education. But for Collins, it was also an opportunity to pursue his athletic dreams. When he joined the school, he immediately set his sights on making the varsity basketball team.

“I already knew I wanted to be on the basketball team,” Collins said. “I made a lot of friends on the team, tried out, and my goal right off the bat was Varsity. I knew I wanted to compete at the highest level available here.”

His hard work paid off, and he earned a spot on the varsity squad as a freshman. Over the next four years, he built strong relationships with his coaches and teammates, working tirelessly to improve his game and contribute to the team’s success.

At the start of his senior season, Collins realized he was about 400 points away from reaching the 2,000-point milestone, a goal that seemed within reach based on his performance in previous seasons. As the season progressed and district play intensified, he said he knew he could close the gap.

The moment finally arrived during a home game. Collins hit a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter, leaving him just one point shy of 2,000. Going into the second quarter, he knew one more basket would seal the achievement, but his primary focus remained on securing a win for his team.

“When he hit that shot, it felt great,” said varsity head coach Chris Rogers. “We called a timeout, everybody celebrated, we were excited.”

“At first, I didn’t even realize I had hit it,” Collins recalled. “And then all of a sudden, all the parents started cheering, holding up banners and all that. It was really surreal.”

The game was stopped to recognize Collins’ achievement, announcing to the crowd that he had officially surpassed 2,000 career points. The moment was filled with cheers, celebrations, and admiration from teammates, coaches, and fans alike.

“As a coach, it was a unique moment because we were actually in a low part of our season,” Rogers reflected. “We were questioning a lot of things about ourselves as a team. I was questioning a lot of decisions that I had made as a coach leading up to that point in the season.”

Collins’ milestone became a rallying point for the team, a reminder of the perseverance and leadership he had demonstrated throughout his high school career. But even after the celebration, his mindset quickly shifted back to the task at hand. “Right after that, it was just get back to the game, focus on winning,” Collins said.

Beyond his athletic achievements as the all-time leading scorer at Great Hearts Northern Oaks, Collins has also excelled in the classroom. He is also ranked in the top three in his class academically. With a strong foundation in both academics and athletics, he has big plans for the future.

“I plan on going to Texas A&M in the engineering program,” Collins said. “While playing basketball would be really cool, I’ve chosen to focus on my education and my degree. It was pretty clear that the best decision was to focus on my degree, which will set me up for… years after my college experience.”

Still, basketball remains close to his heart, and he isn’t ready to leave the game behind just yet. “I will be trying to walk on at Texas A&M,” he said. “I’m going to go for it while the option is there. I definitely don’t want to be done. I’m going to go for gold and try and make the team.”

Athletic Director Todd Ladd added that, “As a general rule, an Athletic Director has the inclination to seek wins and championships, but that is not the trophy! Growing with young student-athletes like this and helping younger students see the Good, True, and Beautiful is the trophy. What a great honor it is to celebrate Caden’s milestone accomplishment! Go Griffins!”

With his young man’s talent and work ethic, there’s little doubt that Collins will continue to find success, whether on the court, in the classroom, and beyond.

This year, we also saw Glendale Prep’s senior, Senna Smith, score her 1,000^th point, setting a school record and Arete Prep’s Harrison Kremer, score his 1,000^th career point as a junior.

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