Courtesy Photo Hillman High School junior Trenton Taratuta displays a basketball commemorating his 1,000th career point earlier this month. Taratuta accomplished the feat in the midst of a 29-point performance against Posen and is the fastest player in Hillman program history to reach 1,000 career points.

HILLMAN — As a youngster, Trenton Taratuta looked up to Hillman basketball stalwarts like Mason VanPamel and Gunnar Libby, marveling at their accomplishments.

Now Taratuta has joined both of them in some very elite company.

Taratuta — a Hillman High School junior — this month became the eighth player in the history of Hillman’s program to reach 1,000 career points. Taratuta hit the milestone during a Jan. 5 win over Posen during a 29-point effort in a Hillman win.

Taratuta joins a list that includes VanPamel, Libby, Paul Bennett, Andy Smith, Jeff Jones, Greg Jones and Tim Jones.

But Taratuta holds the distinction of reaching the milestone the fastest, doing it in just 48 games.

“I think it’s pretty special,” Taratuta said. “Just considering who I’m up there with. I looked up to those guys and it’s pretty special to know that I’m up there with them I guess.”

In the midst of reaching the milestone, Taratuta — who is Hillman’s captain this season — has been a scoring machine for the Tigers this year. He’s averaging 29.8 points per game this season to go with 10.3 rebounds and seems to get better with each game.

Last month, he tied a Hillman scoring record with a 41-point effort against Alpena — a game the Tigers lost in overtime. He’s scored at least 29 points in every game since then, including 39 and 31 respectively in wins over Atlanta and Fairview last week.

“The thing about Trenton is he puts in the time and I think that’s the thing that makes me the most happy with him being rewarded with scoring 1,000 (points) like he has,” Hillman coach Eric Muszynski said. “At a young age he’s in here at 6 in the morning, putting in the work and a lot of times guys say they want to do certain things and accomplish certain things, but they don’t put the time in to do it.”

Taratuta has been turning heads for several years and has been an important part of Hillman’s lineup since his freshman season. He averaged 16 points per game as a freshman and bumped it up to 24.6 points last year, while also earning first team Division 4 all-state honors from the Associated Press.

As a 4.0 student and an all-conference player in three sports, Taratuta is used to pushing himself to improve. He’s still got a lot of high school basketball to play, but he hopes to eventually play college basketball and keeps a consistent workout routine.

“I like to put in as much work as I can, so every day before school I try to go in and get some shots in or some kind of workout, whether it’s lifting weights or just doing some dribbling or shooting,” Taratuta said.

Taratuta said he’s happy to join an elite group within Hillman’s program, but he hopes his efforts — along with those of his teammates — are rewarded in March when the postseason begins.

Hillman went 22-1 last season, putting together a perfect regular season before getting beaten by Saginaw Nouvel in a regional semifinal.

So far this season, Hillman is 7-1, 4-0 in North Star League play and has an experienced team that also includes upperclassmen AJ Jones, Braylon Firman, Caleb Hiveley, Brody Appelgren, and Blake Kennard.

“I’m trying to be more of a leader and just take more responsibility,” Taratuta said. “But the guys are working hard and (the season is) going pretty good. We’ll see how the season plays out.”

Muszynski, who has now coached four of Hillman’s 1,000 point scorers, said he’s been impressed not only with the way Taratuta has embraced a team-first attitude, but the way that he has embraced Hillman’s basketball tradition.

It’s a tradition that players like VanPamel, Libby and Taratuta’s uncles — Greg, Tim and Jeff Jones — have embraced before him and one that Taratuta will keep going with his play and with his leadership.

“He’s the guy that’s keeping the tradition going,” Muszynski said. “He’s always embraced the tradition and that’s what I think I most respect and enjoy watching. Not only is he good on the court, but he’s going to do big things in life too.”