Grant Greabell is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon Honors for AZPreps365.com.

Kaden Garber enjoys scoring. But he likes winning more.

Averaging 18.6 points, the freshman has only gotten better as the season has progressed. So has Horizon Honors.

“He can flat out play. He lives and breathes the game,” said coach Chris Henderson.

After starting 0-6, the Eagles have turned their season around by going 4-4 in their last eight games. Garber has had multiple 30-point games in that span.

These scoring outbursts would be enough for others, but for Garber, there is only one thing that matters to him.

“It’s great to score that much but I wish we could have got some more wins earlier in the season. You know, it’s all about winning. It doesn’t mean anything without the win,” said Garber.

As the team has found more success recently, so has Garber. He has been more efficient and making better decisions than he was earlier in the year.

His ability to play off the ball has been important for his improvement throughout the year, as teams started to key in on him.

Garber uses a combination of quickness to get to the basket and three-point shooting to make him a threat from anywhere on the court.

Garber brings everything he has both offensively and defensively. In his high school debut against American Leadership Academy, he dropped 27 points, foreshadowing what was to come the remainder of the year.

“His three-point shooting is some of the best I’ve ever seen. When he gets open, he’ll let it fly and he’ll hit it,” said teammate Michael Keelen.

Coach Chris Henderson said his points are going up, but his shots are not.

“His shot selection has gotten so much better. Kaden’s moving off ball very well, distributing very well and on top of that other guys are looking for him,” said Henderson.

Garber credits his teammates and coaches for all the success he has had so early in his high school career. He believes none of it would be possible without them.

A freshman leading a high school team could lead to jealousy or animosity towards that player, but some of the team knew Garber before he joined the squad, so it was an easy transition for the team.

“He’s our friend, it’s cool to see him shine,” said Keelen.

Headed into tonight’s game against Sequoia Charter, the Eagles rank 21st in the 2A standings. With 24 teams making the postseason, the Eagles need to win, or they will more than likely fall out of the bracket.

Garber is okay with that, though. He embraces the underdog role.

“Most of the games we’ve been in this season we’ve been the underdogs and that’s the position we want to be in. It gives us that chip on our shoulders to play harder,” said Garber.

If the Eagles win tonight, they will have a play-in game Friday. If they drop the game, their season is in jeopardy. However, no matter what happens, the upshot for Garber is that his story has only just begun.