Boys basketball: Already in 1,000-point club, Kesler Collins joins 1,000-rebound club, too

Scoring 1,000 varsity points in a high school career is an amazing accomplishment, no doubt.

Recording 1,000 career varsity rebounds? That’s a true rarity.

While prep basketball fans will read about a new player joining the 1,000-point club every few weeks, far fewer 1,000-rebound seasons have been recorded in Illinois high school boys basketball history. The IHSA record book lists only the top 20 rebounders of all-time, with 20th place coming in barely over 1,000 with 1,144.

Flanagan-Cornell’s Kesler Collins, already a member of the 1,000-point club, a milestone he passed in a win over Brimfield the fifth game of this, his senior season, joined that elite company. The 6-foot-3 senior forward pulled down his 1,000th rebound in the Falcons’ win over Pleasant Plains on Feb. 10 in the Riverton Shootout.

“My teammates, they do all the hard work for me. They box out while I just go get the rebound.”

—  Kesler Collins, Flanagan-Cornell senior forward

At the time, however, the 1,000th rebound took a backseat to another of Collins’ accomplishments.

“I didn’t even know when I broke [1,000 rebounds],” Collins said. “I knew I was close, but I didn’t know when it happened in the game. It kind of got overshadowed by the half-court shot.”

The half-court shot at the final buzzer off an inbounds pass from teammate Seth Jones, that is. The one that swished through for the Falcons’ victory.

“It’s a cool feeling,” he said of finding out he got his 1,000th rebound, “but as long as we got the win, that’s all I cared about. ...

“It makes me feel rewarded, like the hard work’s paid off, and that it’s nice to have a community that’s had my back. My teammates, they do all the hard work for me. They box out, while I just go get the rebound.

“It’s nice to know, and I guess it’s cool, but it’s just a game.”

Collins already is in the IHSA record books twice because of his rebounding prowess. He recorded a 30-rebound game against Indian Creek in the 2022 Marquette Christmas Tournament. The single-game total tied for 14th all-time and was part of his 498-rebound junior season, tied for the 13th in Illinois high school history.

It’d take some serious work on the glass here as the 2023-24 season winds down for Collins to reach 1,144 and crack the top 20 in the IHSA’s career record list. With a 30-rebound game already to his name and the No. 4 Falcons the second-highest seed behind sub-sectional No. 1 Heyworth in next week’s St. Anne Regional, while unlikely, it’s not completely out of the question.

Collins’ name is destined to hang on the 1,000-point sign at Flanagan-Cornell’s home gym, the Nest, for years to come.

“Kesler’s name will be on that board,” FCHS boys basketball coach and athletic director Brian Yoder said. “I don’t think he gets now [how meaningful that will be someday]. He’s pretty humble. I just think I’ve been pretty lucky to have him here. We’ve all been pretty lucky to have him here.

“He’s one of those guys you just take for granted, but once he’s gone, that’s when it really hurts.”

Incidentally, the 1,000-rebound club and 1,000-point club aren’t the only millennium clubs Collins belongs to. He ran for 1,236 yards his senior season for the eight-man, playoff-qualifying Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland football team.

Yoder is appreciative to have had the opportunity to see it all, including Collins’ most recent, and rarest, climb to 1,000.

“No. 1 , you’ve got to have a lot of guys who can’t shoot, because he gets a lot of offensive rebounds,” Yoder said with a chuckle. “But seriously, he just has a knack for the ball. You watch him off the ball, the shot goes up, and I hate to compare him to Dennis Rodman, because Dennis Rodman is one of the best to do it all-time, but I think he watches the ball, the trajectory, where it’s going, and he’s there before the ball is even going there. ...

“I’ve been fortunate to see every rebound, every point, every rushing yard he got for the 1,000 in football. It’s been fun to watch him play.”