Gabriel’s journey nears completion

Three summers ago, Darius Gabriel faced a dilemma: Stay on his current track, where he was getting poor grades and was distracted by friends and girls, or change course, move out of New York City, and get his high school career onto the right path.
He chose the latter, leaving Bishop Loughlin High School of Brooklyn, and his home in Far Rockaway, for the mundane life of a prep school student at the all-boys institution of the Winchendon School in Massachusetts.
“It was a tough decision,” he said. “You want to be with your family. … [There were many] lonely nights. I tried to come home a lot. I felt like quitting on the first day. My mom told me ‘don’t turn around. I’m not going to open the door.’ ”
It was a prudent choice. Gabriel, 18, a speedy, athletic 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard who was a part of Nate Blue’s Real Scout High Major Classic upperclassmen All-Star game at Fordham University last week, has his choice of Division I schools in Florida, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Houston, Duquesne, and Georgia Tech.
It was a tough move in the first place, considering he started as a sophomore, but prep school was the perfect recipe for the immature teen. It forced him to grow up.
“Basically, you’re on your own,” he said. “You’re doing your own laundry, your own cooking and cleaning.”
The distractions of neighborhood and friends were gone, replaced by school and basketball. He has become a solid B student, and has matured on the court, too, slowly developing into a pass-first point guard.
“The last couple of years you can see the progress he’s made as far as being in control, when to go, when to get his teammates involved, when to play less selfish,” said Gabriel’s AAU coach with the Long Island Lightning, Dana Dingle. “It’s helped him focus a little bit more and get away from all the distractions, and to focus on what’s most important to give him a chance to succeed.”
“Instead of looking to score,” Gabriel said, “I’m more of a distributor, an all-around player.”
Gabriel still has one more year left. He will spend it at prep school, but not at the Winchendon School. He has transferred to highly touted Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, joining fellow borough standout Sean Crawford, formerly of Cardozo. By the time he gets there, Gabriel said, he will have picked a school.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “I’m ready.”