4 Central Catholic seniors savor one last chance to play together at all-star basketball event

One more time together on the court at the high school ranks. A quartet of Central Catholic seniors were going to make the most of it, and they were going to cherish every single second of it. Robbie Long III, Donovan Miller, Jalen Nicholson and Zamir Paschal, who helped lead the Central Catholic boys basketball team to the 6A state championship game in March, got to have one final high school game together as they played for the Oregon squad in the 2026 Northwest Shootout, a high school basketball all-star event where many of the top seniors from Oregon faced a team of Washington all-stars at Portland Community College’s Cascade campus. “This meant a lot to us,” Long said after the game in which Washington rallied for a 112-105 victory. “We were talking in the locker room, how this was our last game playing together. It means everything. I’ll definitely be in touch with my boys the rest of my life.” “Those are my brothers,” Paschal said. “We came up short in the regular season, but to regroup and play this one last game was something special.” “It meant a lot. These are my brothers for life,” Nicholson said. “Going to school and hooping with them the past four years has been such a blessing, and to get to do it one more time makes you look back and see how special it was.” Long, Nicholson and Paschal, then sophomores, were part of the Central Catholic team that defeated Roosevelt 85-76 in the 2024 6A state championship game. This past season, the four seniors shined for the Rams team that won the Mt. Hood Conference title at 14-0 and went 24-6 overall. Only a wild finish to the state championship game kept the Rams from claiming gold again, as a crazy, closing-seconds Tualatin rally gave the Timberwolves a 70-69 win. Paschal, in his senior year, was named the Mt. Hood Conference player of the year. He was joined on the all-conference first team by Long and Nicholson. Miller was a second-team all-conference pick. Paschal was voted to the 6A all-state first team. Long made the second team, and Nicholson received third-team accolades. The four seniors welcomed a chance to play together one more time in the all-star contest. “It meant a lot,” Nicholson said. “It was a good time over the weekend, getting to hang out with the guys. I grew up playing against some of these guys, so it was good to be on the same team for a game. Overall, it was just a fun weekend and a fun game.” “It meant a lot, honestly, just representing Oregon and all of the people who have supported me all along the years,” Paschal said. “It was a fun game.” With Central Catholic coach David Blue in attendance, the four Rams delivered in the all-star game. Long was Oregon’s leading scorer with 20 points. He had nine rebounds, five steals and a block. Paschal had 19 points and nine rebounds. Nicholson had 15 points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist, and Miller had two points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. “It was good,” Long said. “I know it’s an all-star game, but we still compete.” “It was up and down,” Nicholson said. “The thing we wanted to focus on was having fun, playing hard and leaving it all out there.” There were times when all four Central Catholic players were on the court for the Oregon squad. “When we were all four on the court, it was pretty special,” Long said. “That made it a lot easier, having those people out there who I’m used to and know how they play,” Paschal said. The Central Catholic seniors are working on finalizing their college basketball plans. “I’m going to play basketball at Loyola of Maryland,” said Long, who also was a star quarterback for the Central Catholic football team that reached the 6A state title game last fall. “I went and visited there, and it was really good.” “I’m talking to some schools, a couple D1s, a couple D2s, and we’ll see how it shakes out the next few weeks as I make my decision,” Nicholson said. “Nothing is set yet, but you’ll definitely see me playing in college,” Paschal said. No matter what separate college basketball paths they take, the four Central Catholic seniors always will have that one last high school game they got to play together. “Those are my guys, and I’m glad we got to do it one last time,” Nicholson said.