FORT MYERS, Fla. — Dsean Archilles has the shot and skills that dazzle on the hardwood.
After earning all-state honors while at Mariner High School in Cape Coral, he’s planning to play college ball in the fall at ASA College in Miami.
But to hear him tell it, he wouldn’t even be playing if it weren’t for his younger brother, Sean.
“When he passed away, going into my 9th grade year, I decided to pick up a ball again,” said Dsean.
Sean Archilles was only 14 back in 2016, when several shooters in the Club Blu parking lot, on Evans Avenue in Fort Myers, started firing.
Dsean was supposed to attend the teen party with his little brother but chose not to at the last minute.
20 people were hit in the barrage of gunfire.
Sean and 18-year-old Stef’an Strawder were killed.
“It helped me cope with a lot."
Through his grief, Dsean turned to the game his little brother loved so much.
“It helped me cope with a lot. When I’m angry, or sad, or down, I’ll go play basketball. That’s what really got me better,” Dsean said.
He doesn’t just mean better on the court.
“Everything is bigger than basketball. Basketball is a steppingstone to get you there. But it helps you grow. With me, basketball helped me get to this point where I’m able to help kids and give other kids an opportunity to play.”
Since that night, Dsean has launched a basketball camp for kids Sean’s age.
The “Do it for Sean” camp just wrapped up its second year.
Dozens of youngsters picked up the ball and hit the court.
Every one of them knows Sean’s story.
“Literally, on everything we wear is “Do it for Sean,” Dsean said.
“Everybody knows my reasoning. I don’t hide the story. There’s a reason for everything I’m doing.”
The brothers have a history of speaking out against violence in their communities.
Fox 4 interviewed Sean at a Stop the Violence rally in 2014, two years before he died.
“There’s too much violence, I want that to stop,” Sean told Fox 4 at the time.
“Literally, on everything we wear is “Do it for Sean."
Justice for Sean took years.
For several years there were no arrests and no answers for Dsean and his family.
Last month, six years after the deadly shooting, the first of five suspects was sentenced for their role in the shooting.
Kierra Russ, who prosecutors say acted as a lookout and sent text messages to the shooters, was convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.
Dsean said he went to the first day of proceedings but couldn’t bear to see anymore.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Dsean said. “(Sean’s) still gone. It didn’t really help me with anything. It’s getting people off the streets, but that doesn’t take away from my loss.”
His grief may stay with him.
But with every drill and dribble, comes a chance to keep his brother’s memory alive.
“The legacy is gonna live on,” said Dsean.
“That’s not stopping anytime soon.”
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