Laying down the Law

The leading scorer, Rodney Reid, wants to be a crime scene investigator with a background in forensic science. Center Oshane Martin sees his future in law as a defense attorney. In addition, defensive specialist Antione Wallace is eager to join the police academy with hopes of becoming a detective.
Not the usual aspirations for members of a first-place basketball program, are they? But then again, the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety (HSLEPS), in its fourth year of existence, is not the usual public school institution.
Students dress in formal wear, boys donning sports jackets and ties and slacks and shoes. They take classes that teach the codes and components of the law, such as introduction to law enforcement, forensics and Emergency Medical Science procedures. There are mock trials and debates on a regular basis.
“The whole school is about discipline,” point guard Antwann Parks Jr. said, “and we transfer that onto the court.”
So far, in just two years as a varsity program, it is certainly transferring. Last year, in their introduction to the PSAL, HSLEPS reached the playoffs, finishing 13-7 in Queens B. So far this fall, the Leopards are even further along under first-year coach Rodger Shelton, winning nine of their first eleven to reside near the top of Queens B-East.
Despite a limited and size-challenged roster - at 6-foot-3, Martin is their tallest player - HSLEPS is a legit contender. Guard-oriented, the Leopards lean on Parks Jr. and Reid offensively, using defensive stalwarts Armor and Darnell Gatling to get out in the open court and take advantage of their superior athleticism.
Yet it is the chemistry and bond the eight seniors, all part of the school’s first graduating class, have developed with one another that have fostered the continued progression. There are never arguments or infighting. When a game gets close, they dig in. The players act as they are expected to in school, and it’s obviously working. “We’re more like a family,” Gatling noted. “It doesn’t matter who scores.”
“They’re a cohesive unit - on and off the court,” Shelton said.
“Everybody knows their role, everybody knows what they got to do,” Reid added. “Nobody really has an attitude. Nobody comes out of character.”
A lifelong coach, Shelton is having the time of his life. The former head of the jayvee at Robeson, a perennial city
powerhouse but a program that was banished for the remainder of the season when a brawl broke out during one of their home games, Shelton is still in awe of his players. Wherever he has gone, Shelton has developed a tradition for himself of asking his players beforehand what they learned at school. The Leopards always have an insightful answer for him.
“These kids are fantastic,” he marveled. “Great students, mature beyond their years. One thing: grades are not a problem, going to class is not a problem. A lot of external problems I’ve had in the past, I don’t have here.”
“I don’t want to seem like I’m trying to build them up, but everything I’ve asked them to do, [they do]. They’re so coachable,” Shelton continued. “It’s a coach’s dream. It’s like I’m in Utopia. The quality of the student impresses me. I would take these kids anywhere.”
One similarity the Leopards share with other high schoolers, something they cannot avoid, is to dream. Postseason success dances in their heads.
“When we first came here, we wanted to be undefeated,” Parks Jr. recalled. “Right now, we’re on pace where we want to be at, but still we want to get higher and advance further in the playoffs.”