Harrisburg Academy guard Deshawn Moultrie sets program record
For the better part of four seasons, Harrisburg Academy’s Deshawn Moultrie has taken his share of chances.
It’s one of the best characteristics of his game, a combination of skill, focus and drive.
Basketball has become a huge part of his identity, and Moultrie’s latest accomplishment will forever stick in the Spartans’ record book.
On Jan. 12, the 5-10 guard became the program’s career leader in steals with 374. He hit the mark in the Spartans’ 80-59 loss to Belleville Mennonite.
“It’s all about timing and playing within the system,” said Moultrie, a New York native. “The full-court press we run and the zone defense allows me to take chances.”
Moultrie said reaching such a lofty number wasn’t a goal at the beginning of the season, but feeling changed toward the end of December.
“As the year went on, my skills improved, so I thought it was something out of the ordinary that I could achieve.”
Moultrie was barely in kindergarten when his mother brought him and his brother to Harrisburg from the Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn.
And at the Nativity School in downtown is where Moultrie really dug in on the court.
“I feel like I really started taking it seriously in middle school, about the 8th-grade,” Moultrie said.
“I was going to follow in my brother’s direction and attend Dauphin County Technical School, but things changed at the last second. I felt like Harrisburg Academy was a better education for me.”
The decision worked out great for Moultrie and the Spartans, who is currently chasing another milestone down the regular season home stretch.
Moultrie will enter Thursday’s home game vs. Harrisburg Christian with 871 career points.
He opened the current season with a 34-point performance vs. the Knights.
“I don’t want to overthink it, hitting 1,000 points,” Moultrie said. “I don’t want to put any pressure on myself or do something out of the ordinary that hurts the team.”
Regarding those Spartans. Harrisburg Academy (3-7) is fighting an uphill battle to reach the District 3 1A postseason with nine regular season games remaining.
But whether Moultrie, who hopes to play at the next level, checks off another milestone or not, he’s focused on leaving his mark on the next wave of Spartans.
“As a senior, I feel like it’s kind of my rule. The people around me and the younger guys will need to fill that role. It’s a big focus of mine, to help them be better than they are now.”
