Rewriting Abby’s record books

Faber makes history with 1,000 points

As COVID-19 cases surged across Wisconsin and the country late last year, Cade and Brent Faber didn’t know if there would be a basketball season.

If there was to be a season though, father and son, coach and player, understood that it could open the door for something special.

For Cade, a 6’3” senior at Abbotsford, he had big goals coming into his final year with the Falcons. Having a season meant having a chance to achieve something he’d dreamed of since he was a child - scoring a thousand points.

“Playing AAU in eighth grade, we were down in Just-A-Game Fieldhouse in the Dells,” Cade’s father and head coach Brent recalls. “We saw the 1,000 point board that hangs up there, and at that age, it was something he really wanted to accomplish.”

Faber was close enough to know he could do it. All he needed was a chance.

“I was kinda scared we weren’t going to have a season because basketball is my sport,” Cade says. “I had put so much work in, and I knew I was close to scoring a thousand points. Once I heard we were able to play I was filled with excitement because I wanted to play so bad.”

Being approved to play was one thing, getting a chance to play was another. Any player who tested positive for COVID- 19 would have to sit out two weeks, and with the WIAA truncating the season by several weeks, being quarantined could mean a player could miss as many as ten games in that time period.

Thankfully, Faber was able to play a full season, and the Falcons never once had to halt basketball operations. Faber’s hopes and hard work was soon rewarded, with the bouncy guard dishing out assists, pulling down rebounds and administering pain and punishment to basketball rims with thunderous dunks.

“It’s awesome,” Cade says about the feeling he gets when he dunks. “The whole team feeds off that because every time we get a dunk it’s a momentum swing. It gets us and the fans energized.”

Each night Faber came up with plays that got the crowd up off their feet. There were two handed dunks and alley-oops. Off balance lay-ups seemed almost routine, and Faber scored in bunches.

Awe-inspiring performances came to be the norm for Faber, but they were the product of hours spent honing his game, growing stronger and travelling many long nights and even longer miles on the road for AAU basketball games with his club, Wisconsin Swing.

But it worked, transforming Cade into the incredible player he is. A player that can drop 30 points and 15 rebounds on even the best teams in the state.

“The competition you play in AAU is so much different in high school,” Faber says. “It makes you an all around much better player because you’re going against really great players.”

It was a long term project for Cade to get to one thousand points. In his freshman season he played sparingly, scoring just 14 points. His sophomore and junior seasons would be his chance to showcase his skills.

“I figured that I might be one of the leaders but not the top dog on the team,” Cade said. “So I figured I’m just going to get my points and my rebounds and help the team out as much as I could.”

Faber scored 290 points in his first year as a starter, averaging just under 13 points a game. He was named second team all-conference and that honor only served to make him work harder.

Which was a good thing too, since he knew he was going to be tasked to score more as a junior - and that he would draw a greater defensive focus.

“Obviously everyone knows Cade is going to score, he’s our main guy,” Brent said about his son. “We had to try and figure out schemes to work around that. If they’re gonna double-team Cade what do we want to do? How do we want to run our offense to get other kids involved?”

Cade took his game to new levels as a junior, finishing with 387 points, and was just 300 points away from 1,000. He also garnered first team All-Conference, but with the loss of seniors Blake Draper, Reiley Schreiber and Dalton Feddick, he knew it would be a younger team that took the floor his senior year. Faber doubled his efforts to improve.

“I got on the best team I probably could for AAU, and I worked out in the gym and school and got a whole bunch of guys to come in. I had my dad open up the gym and was just coming in all the time.”

Faber scored in bunches almost every game. Double and triple teams could not stop him as he carved his way through defense for buckets. He was driven by his goal, and didn’t really care when his one thousandth point came, but a nine point effort against Columbus Catholic paved the way for him to deliver at home.

“I still tried to shoot the ball and tried to make the shots, but for some reason they just weren’t falling in Marshfield. I guess maybe God wanted me to do it at home too,” Faber said with a laugh.

Cade’s moment came against the Prentice Buccaneers, and the way in which he did it is more than appropriate.

Cade got a block, and then grabbed the loose ball, dishing it out to fellow senior Hunter Soyk, Soyk set Faber up for the perfect finish. Cade leapt into the air at the same time Soyk lofted the ball and what followed was a two-handed flush that sent spectators into hysterics.

“We talked about it, but mostly as a joke because we really didn’t think it was actually going to happen that way,” Faber admits. “Then it actually happened and it was just such a burst of excitement.”

The assist from Soyk is something Cade highlights as he speaks about his milestone, and he’s quick to praise his coaches and teammates for setting up his success and scoring.

“I couldn’t have done this without my teammates. They got me open and helped me out, like with Reiley setting big screens and Blake hitting me on assists. I could not have done it without them.”

By the time his senior season ended Faber had been named first team All-Marawood for a second year. He also earned a nod at honorable mention All-State.

That alone makes him one of the best players to don a Falcons’ jersey, but the 476 points he hung on opponents gives Faber an even bigger and better milestone - 1,167 points. It is the most ever for a male basketball player in Abbotsford.

Cade’s place in Abby’s history is assured, but he has a hard time putting his legacy into words.

“I don’t know how to answer that one,” Faber says. “I mean, yeah I made the points, but I could not have done this without the teammates and the community. They were there every step of the journey. So it was just as much about them as about me.”

Faber is eager to take his skills to the next level, where he has several options. No matter where he goes, he says he’s eager to showcase Abbotsford basketball.

“When you come from a small school you sometimes feel a bit disrespected. Hopefully I can go to college and someone can see my potential and I can just go on from there.”

HE SOARS THROUGH THE AIR WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE -A three sport athlete, Faber’s high flying playing style stunned opponents and fans alike. Faber ended his playing career as one of a handful of players to score 1,000 points, and his 1.167 points is an all-time high for a male player at Abbotsford.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN

HANG TIME - Cade Faber leaps through the air as he gets ready to dunk the ball during his senior season. Faber scored nearly 500 points in his last year with Abbotsford.STAFF PHOTO/SAMANTHA YOCIUS