When Collin Hines arrived at CNU in August of 2022, he was one of two freshmen on the men's basketball roster. He played in every game that season and was on the floor for Trey Barber's historic buzzer beater that gave the Captains their first national championship.

That was in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And Thursday afternoon, as the roster's only senior, Hines will lead his team back to Fort Wayne for a national quarterfinal matchup against the University of St. Thomas (Texas).

Same city and arena. But that's about it.

"It's completely different, honestly, from my freshman year," Hines said. "I was the youngest then and now I'm the oldest. I'm the only senior, and it's a completely different experience.

"It's a little bit of pressure, but it's good pressure. We really wanted to get to Fort Wayne. We want to win it all, of course, but getting to Fort Wayne, we feel like we have a pretty good shot."

And why not? CNU (24-5) got here by defeating Randolph-Macon, ranked No. 6 in the final NPI ratings, in Ashland Friday night. This will be the Captains' seventh Elite Eight appearance, their fourth in five years.

It will be the 121^st game of Hines' career, placing him tied for third on the program's all-time list. And, he hopes, it will be his 101^st victory. Even for a program with CNU's track record, that's a noteworthy mark.

"The bottom line is that Collin Hines is a winner," said John Krikorian, in his 15^th season as the Captains' head coach. "His competitive spirit is on display every night.

"For four years he has poured his heart, soul and body onto the court, often times through pain, to lift our team to victory. I think you can see that spirit up and down our roster this season, with Collin leading the way."

After playing at Norview High in Norfolk, Hines joined his older brother, Jahn, on CNU's roster. In three seasons together, they won 77 games, two conference championships, and the aforementioned natty.

Jahn played from 2022-25 and became the No. 2 scorer in program history with 2,086 points. Collin will be the first to confess he's not that kind of scorer. But at 6-foot-5 and 175 pounds, he is an elite defender, a relentless rebounder, a crafty passer and a leader.

He's listed as a guard on the roster only because they had to put something down. What he is, really, is a unicorn.

"He's the epitome of a positionless basketball player," Krikorian said. "He can guard all five positions on the floor, and you can put him at all five positions on the floor. That's an incredible thing. I don't know if I've ever had another player who I could say that about."

Something else Krikorian wants to make clear.

"We didn't recruit him because he's Jahn's brother," he said. "We recruited him because he was a really good player in his own right."

But would Collin have committed to CNU had Jahn not been here?

"He was probably the only reason I came," Collin said. "My mom really wanted me to play with Jahn, so she was like 'Just go for one year and see what happens. If you don't like it, you can drop out.'

"We just so happened to win a national championship that year. And we had pretty much the whole team coming back, so …"

In his final season, Hines is averaging 9.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game — all career highs. He and guard Tyson Henderson are the only players on the team among the top three in each of those categories.

Perhaps the best game of Hines' career, at least statistically, came on Feb. 21 against Salisbury. In 28 minutes, he had 12 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. The 20 rebounds are sixth most in program history.

As far as making an impact in an elimination game, Hines was never better than in a second-round win over Washington & Jefferson two weeks ago. Talk about filling the box score: 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals.

Hines has come to accept the fact that he is most effective around the rim, not the perimeter. His attempts from the 3-point arc have declined from 49 as a sophomore to 38 as a junior to 16 as a senior.

"They wanted me in the post my freshman year, but I wanted to be a guard, so me and Coach K bumped heads about it," Hines said. "I was being immature and kind of fought against it for a while. But I trust Coach K with all my heart.

"Now, I love playing in the post. As a four, I can get assists, make plays and set screens. It's my last year, and I want to do whatever the team needs me to do to win."

That's not lost on his teammates.

"He's doing what he can for us to win," guard Isaiah Dozier said. "Playing out of position, playing his best, and playing his hardest. I love playing with him."

Off the court, Hines is the youngest of six children (Jahn is second-youngest). He is majoring in communications with a minor in psychology. After graduation, he plans to team up with Jahn (currently playing in Portugal) and start a clothing business.

CNU's next game, and if all goes right the two after that, will be in the Hoosier State (the final is set for Indianapolis). Fort Wayne is 700 miles from CNU's campus, but Hines knows he will feel the love coming from Virginia.

"My sophomore year, I was over at the Chick-fil-A, and a woman came over and said, 'My son loves you and he has your poster,'" Hines said. "That changed my perspective … CNU basketball is bigger than us.

"It's CNU as a whole and the community. We're getting all this coverage, and it would be wrong to not give everybody a shout-out."