Ridgeline senior Caden Andreas poised to join Greater Spokane League all-time top 10 scoring list | GSL basketball

At first glance, Ridgeline senior point guard Caden Andreas might not immediately stand out as a basketball star. But don’t let his stature fool you.

Listed at 5-foot-9, Andreas is a four-year starter for the Falcons and needs just 15 points to tie Shadle Park’s Danny Pariseau at No. 10 in all-time career scoring in the Greater Spokane League. Third in the league at 20.1 points per game this season, he could very well hit the mark during Friday’s home game against University.

Not bad for his “second sport.”

Andreas is a two-time first-team all-league selection in baseball and was the GSL offensive MVP last spring. After graduation, he is headed to Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, for baseball and to study physical therapy.

“I know everyone says basketball is a height sport, but I don’t. I don’t care at all,” Andreas said after practice on Thursday. “I’ll drive, I’ll go into a 7-footer. I don’t really care. I know that I’m fast. I know I’ll be aggressive, and whatever gets the job done, I’ll do it.”

“For me, his leadership has been phenomenal over the last four years,” Ridgeline coach Nick Seaman said. “His grittiness on the floor and his ability to be composed on and off the floor with his class and obviously in sports – he’s just an all around great kid. It’s been a blessing to get to coach him.”

Always a team player, Andreas said the record isn’t “my biggest priority right now.”

“All that’s on my mind is winning and getting to state and getting my team as far as possible,” he said. “But yeah, obviously it’s in the back of my mind.”

Still, Andreas admits it’s a pretty cool achievement to join Adam Morrison, Sean Mallon, Anton Watson and others in such lofty company.

“It’s awesome to think about, but that this isn’t even my main sport,” he said. “I’ve always loved basketball, but I just want to thank coach (Freddie) Rehkow and coach (Nick) Seaman to give me the chance as a freshman to just play and get my points right away. But I just love basketball. I love the game, and it’s kind of crazy to think that I’m up there.”

“Being able to score on all three levels is, hands down, one of the most unique things about him, especially at 5-8, 5-9” Seaman said. “His ability to do that, and his competitiveness puts him in a good spot to be able to score at all three levels.”

With three games left in the regular season, Andreas should not only move into the top 10, but could finish as high as No. 6 on the list. With 932 points in league games (1,420 overall) entering Friday, he needs just 59 points to surpass Shadle Park great Brett Weisner for sixth all-time, just one spot below Watson’s 1,066.

The wins haven’t come as often as the Falcons would have liked this season, sitting at 6-11 overall and 2-4 in league with three games to go. They are tied with Cheney for the fourth seed to the district tournament but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Blackhawks. Andreas and Seaman both think the team can get on a roll down the stretch and in the district tournament and qualify for state.

“We’ve all got to play together. That’s been our biggest thing all year,” Andreas said. “It hasn’t really been a skill issue. It’s more just mental. We’ve got a lot of young guys, so that’s on me and my two other seniors – we’ve got to lead them. This is the most crucial part of the year. All those other games don’t matter. The only thing that matters right now is … we’ve got to keep rolling.”

“The season’s not quite going the way that we wanted,” Seaman said. “We’ve got three really important games. … It’s going to take a lot of grit and a lot of teamwork all around to get us to that next level. I do believe we do have a realistic team to potentially get there, but then we’re going to have to battle our tails off once we get there.”

Though he’s the point guard and leading scorer, Andreas says he “doesn’t always have to be the hero.” But everything the Falcons do on offense goes through him, Seaman said.

“A lot of our offense is based around him, and him either initiating the offense or he’s coming off of some secondary look,” Seaman said. “But there are moments where we do need him to kind of buckle down and take over.”

“Sometimes I get into that takeover mode, and I think I got to do it all myself – and sometimes I do,” Andreas said. “But (the coaches) have taught me that I’ve just got to trust my teammates, believe in them, believe in myself and everything will work out.”