Estacada student makes basketball history

ESTACADA, Ore (KPTV) - One Estacada High School senior has made his school’s history, becoming the first basketball player ever recorded at the school to score 1,000 points in his four seasons.

Dominic Nacoste, the one who made it happen, summed it up simply.

“I scored 1,000 points,” he said smiling.

He didn’t have it easy either, as COVID-19 cheated him out of half of his sophomore season.

“It was definitely a grind,” he recalled. “I had to work hard every night.”

SEE ALSO: Rex Putnam HS senior Emma McDonald reaches 1,000-point milestone

His mother, Sara Shaw, called the feat “kind of a big deal.”

“I’m his number one fan,” she said.

She described her son as fearsome on the court.

“He plays 1,000% every time. I don’t know where he got it. Probably from his dad,” Shaw said. “Because it wasn’t from me.”

Shaw calls her son athletic, playing both basketball and football.

“When I take the court,” Nacoste said. “I just want to dominate. I want to do everything the best I can. It’s the big plays and little plays. You’ve got to find anything you can to get juiced.”

Juice is something he refers to as the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“It just makes you feel invincible,” Nacoste said. “I’m not even going to lie. It makes you feel good. I love the feeling.”

However, adrenaline alone isn’t all that carried Nacoste to scoring his 1,000 points, sometimes as many as 29 points a game. He said it took a village. He mentioned that he leaned on family, coaches, and his teammates most of all. Some teammates he has played alongside since he was a kid.

“Without the team,” he said, “I can’t win us games. It’s us. We win the games.”

Throughout his four-year high school basketball journey, Shaw said she’s shown up to as many games as she could, “screaming, yelling and cheering him on!”

She described her son as a good student, and humble on and off the court.

“He’s just an all-around good kid. Everyone loves him and he loves everyone. I love him,” she said with a grin. “Now, if I could get him up in the morning on time every day.”

Following the end of this season, Nacoste plans to attend Eastern Oregon University. He said right now his focus will be playing football at the college, and that a degree or major is currently up in the air.

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