If you did not know the name Terrance Collins heading into this basketball season, more than likely you do now.
He had seen varsity minutes back in seventh grade, but now as a freshman, he is a full-fledged starter and he took no time waiting to show his impact. In the first game of the season against Marbury, Collins debuted with a 19-point and 14-rebound night while also adding four steals in the process. From that point on he did not look back, earning the 2025 Elmore County Boys Basketball Player of the Year distinction.
On the year he averaged a double-double, which is difficult for any standout player to accomplish no less doing it as a freshman in Class 6A. Collin finished as a leader in points with 16.7 per game and rebounds with 10.2 per game while finishing in the top three of every other stat for Stanhope Elmore this year.
“Terrance, he really came in and played well,” Stanhope coach Austin Moncus said. “We really give him the freedom to play. Not a lot of time you see a freshman average and a double-double at the 6A level I'll tell you that.”
According to Collins, what played to his benefit was the teammates he had around him. The combination of Kaleb Sanders and Judah Gilbert provided him complimentary pieces to score while Collins mentioned Kam Anderson playing a major role as to why he accumulated so many rebounds.
“My teammates really helped me out the most,” Collins said. “Kam Anderson and Judah Gilbert, they helped me out a lot. The reason I had (so many) rebounds was because Kam boxed guys out for me. If I couldn’t guard a person, Judah would guard them for me; those two are great teammates. Then another one of my teammates Kaleb Sanders — when it was too much on me, Kaleb can help me out a lot.”
Another aspect of his game that proved crucial for the Mustangs this year was his selflessness. Regardless of what was asked of him, Collins was going to do it.
“Kids nowadays correlate scoring the basketball with playing well, and that's not him,” Moncus said. “If he's not scoring the ball well, there are a lot of things that he does well on the court. As a coach, it's hard to take him off the floor. He played the most minutes on our team; it was just hard as a coaching staff for us to take him off the floor, just because he does everything so well.”
Heading forward into the rest of his playing career, Moncus wants Collins to continue what he’s doing. The main priority right now is getting him in the weight room to fill out his 6-foot-1 frame while also tackling new responsibilities as a leader for the team. The offseason has already begun for Stanhope Elmore with weekend workouts and as no surprise Collins is there helping get his team better.
“(We want him to) figure out how to be a good teammate, how to be a good leader,” Moncus said. “When you work hard, bring people with you and make the program as a whole better. I think as a kid, his mindset is in the direction of getting our team better, which is a special man.”
Collin shared a similar sentiment of making the team around him better this offseason. However, the main goal for him is to make sure the Mustangs are in the playoff and competing for an area title.
“I just (want to ) get better with my team,” Collins said. “Making it far, getting in the playoffs and maybe the Sweet 16, getting farther than what we did this year. We’re just gonna get more discipline, more right when it comes to basketball. We'll be good, and we're gonna make it far.”
