The anticipation of one special day has been looming for senior basketball Captain Alex Kaslander for four years now.  The dream of that day was with him before he ever entered VHS. On January 14, in a game against North 13^th Street Tech, that dream came true.

On a dramatic three-point shot, Alex finally reached his goal of scoring 1,000 points in his high school basketball career.

Alex began his quest as a freshman, when he was named a starter.  He has started every single game of his high school career since.  His first game is a day that he says he will never forget.

“It was a Friday night, first game of the season, packed gym against a good Glen Ridge team.” A few minutes went by and the game started to get into a flow and then Alex got an open look and released his first career shot which just so happened to be a three-point shot.  It banked in.  The crowd roared as he jogged back down the court shrugging his shoulders and laughing; he says that “it is a moment and shot that will stay with me forever”.

Before Kaslander entered high school, he attended Our Lady of the Lake Middle School, where they have a traveling basketball team that starts in the third grade. Alex was coached through all those years by his father and says “(My dad) taught me everything I know about the game and instilled in me a good work ethic.” When eighth grade came around and Alex was deciding where to take his basketball talents, his choices were between Seton Hall Prep and Verona. Coach Eric McElroy, who had seen Alex play multiple times, knew he was a large talent and after having coached his brother, Bobby, knew that Alex could be a great addition to his program. After much debate on what would be the better decision for him, Kaslander chose to take his talents to VHS.

In his 8^th grade year, Alex’s dad asked him to make a list of his goals, sports-related school-related, and life-related. One of his sports goals was, of course, to become a 1,000 point scorer.

Heading into the game in which he would reach the milestone, Alex needed 23 points in order to achieve his milestone, several points higher than his per game average.  This led fans to wonder whether he would get the number and be able to enjoy the achievement on his home court, or whether it  would have to come at the next game,  which was an away game at Newark Central.

In the first half of the game Alex was only at nine points which left him some work to do in the second half.  In the third quarter Alex caught fire. He scored 11 straight points getting his total to 20 for the game. With much anticipation for the next offensive procession, Matt Braschi quickly dribbled up the court and gave Alex a hand-off. His three-pointer swished and the crowd erupted.

Hysteria broke out as all of the members of the varsity team stormed the court and tackled Alex to the ground.

“I really was unaware of how many points I was at but once I made the shot and saw everyone’s reaction, I knew I had done it,” says Kaslander. With former teammates, family, and students holding up fat heads of Alex’s face in the VHS stands, he was destined to get his 1,000 point at home.  It was a perfect scene for the dramatic moment.

Alex is the eleventh member to join the 1,000 point club at VHS and now owns a piece of VHS history as his name will be added to the banner hanging in the home gym.

The Hillbillies are currently sitting at a 12-2 record and although Kaslander is very proud and happy of his individual milestone he states that a “state Championship would be much sweeter and that is the next goal.”

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RProSCpeXPQ for video of Alex’s milestone shot.