The senior guard’s name will now greet everyone who walks into the Trojan’s basketball gym, sitting atop the record board as the all-time leading scorer. ADRIAN, Mich. — Every shooter likes to score, but not every player can net history. Madison High School senior guard Antonio Nieto made that dream a reality and then some […]
The senior guard’s name will now greet everyone who walks into the Trojan’s basketball gym, sitting atop the record board as the all-time leading scorer.
ADRIAN, Mich. — Every shooter likes to score, but not every player can net history. Madison High School senior guard Antonio Nieto made that dream a reality and then some last week.
As he takes on that challenge, his name now serves as a guide to what younger players can look up to.
“We were the last school, the last program in the county, to not have a 1,000-point scorer,” said head coach Erik Thompson. “So, that’s a cool accomplishment.”
“You’ve got to have the work ethic,” Thomspon said. “Tony’s put countless hours in this gym getting shots up, plays all year round, and he’s a gym rat and he loves the game.
“So if you want to break 1,000, you’ve got to love the game and you’ve got to put the time in.”
“I just want them to play with the same type of passion I played with and want to lead their teammates how I wanted to lead mine,” Nieto said. “Just play as hard as I did and hopefully one day someone comes and breaks my record too.”
“We’ve had a lot of great players come by and they couldn’t break it and it means a lot to me that I was able to break it,” he said.
For decades, class of 1984 alum Peter Bagrow highlighted record books as Madison’s all-time leading scorer.
And it has proved to pay off.
He added that pouring into the little things is what Thompson has preached since freshman year, such as showing up early, getting your shots in and playing selflessly.
“I felt really appreciated. It just felt good for everyone in the gym to know what I accomplished and it’s gonna be going in the record books and everything,” he said.
Now, 41 years later, Nieto replaces him while also becoming the first Trojan to ever reach 1,000 career points.
Despite the two feats, Nieto said there is still work to do, like winning the league title.
Thompson complemented Nieto’s dedication, too.
“He had the ability and the love for the game. You catch him looking up and saying ‘Oh, who’s this guy?’ on the record board,” Thompson said. “He’s always in the gym, always texting me ‘can we get in the gym? Get some shots?'”
Nieto said the accomplishment was not something he initially aimed for when he was playing on varsity as a freshman, but when the points started adding up, there was no other option than to go for it.
