Martin Luther King Jr. is supposed to be a soccer school. After winning twelve of the last fourteen PSAL city titles, everyone expects the Knights to dominate on the pitch, but in the gym?
There, they may be underrated.
After yesterday’s commanding, 69-43 victory over Bread and Roses, the Knights’ basketball team wrapped up the Manhattan Northwest A division crown, firmly establishing themselves as championship contenders.
“I think we’re capable of winning the city championship,” senior wing Adolphe Jean-Baptiste said. “We’re more than just a threat. We’re dangerous. Anybody on this team can step up for us.”
Success on the hardwood is not necessarily new to MLK (13-1). In 1994, it was a Martin Luther King squad that denied Lincoln and Stephon Marbury a city championship. The banner from that memorable season hangs alone in the rafters of King’s gymnasium, surrounded by the accomplishments of the soccer program.
This could be the year that 1994 banner gets some company.
Coach Julio Melendez certainly hopes so. He dresses 13 seniors and knows that this is the most talented and experienced team that he has had as the coach at King. He didn’t speak much about the daunting task of essentially replacing his entire team next year. He is only focused on what lies immediately ahead of his team.
King thoroughly dominated Bread & Roses (9-8), a middle-of-the-pack team Wednesday.
In the win, senior forwards Thomas Henry and Demetrius Pauling were brick walls in the paint. Their defense can’t be measured by the amount of blocked shots, but also by the ones they altered.
“I had to work on my defense because my team lets me know that they need me in the game,” Henry said. “I had fouled out of a few games. But after working with Coach, we learned how to [put] these blocks together.”
The Knights were patient and effective offensively, running a composed inside-out game that kept the Jaguars on their toes at all times. Whether it was the outside play of junior point guard Royce Paris and Jean-Baptiste or the post moves of Henry and Pauling, it seemed as if every player on the floor was always in a position to score.
“We want to take the shots that we want,” Melendez said. “Not the shots that the defense gives us.”
Following that philosophy, the Knights led, 32-16, at the half and cruised to victory. King’s leading scorer Jean-Baptiste scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half and wasn’t needed in the second.
“He’s the one that gets us going,” Melendez said. “He’s our leader out there.”
Pauling put in 14 and Paris had 11. By the midway point of the fourth quarter, Melendez emptied his bench. Before then, the 6-foot-7 Pauling put on a show. He had a thunderous dunk in the second quarter and set up teammates with adept passing out of the past.
“My first look is always to facilitate the ball to my teammates,” he said. “I just want to focus on making the right decisions.”
Now that the division is in hand, the Knights will have one more league test against Stuyvesant before preparing for the postseason. Melendez prefers his team not talk about the city championship, but it gets harder after every win.
“Last year we talked about it (winning the PSAL city championship),” he said. “This year, we don’t want to look too far into the future.”