By Aryaman Bahri

When it is so dark that you cannot even see the basket at Wyngate Park, youcan still find Elan and David Sabzehroo, a freshman and a junior, practicing handles and shooting three-pointers. The sound of the ball swishing through the net echoes in the quiet street as they make 10 or 15 shots in a row without being able to see the basket. The sight of them shooting is not a new one, though, as they have both been playing basketball since the age of three.
The Sabzehroo Brothers grew up fewer than 50 steps away from Wyngate Park. “The park being right outside our house impacted us in so many ways,” said David. When they were only three (and the ball was almost as big as they were), they would go to the park and shoot hoops everyday. By the time they were in elementary school, they could compete with middle schoolers and even some high schoolers because of their advanced skill set. Their shooting ability and ball handling skills were comparable with those of thirteen and fourteen year olds. One group of adults used to play on the court, and they would tell Elan and David to leave. “We got better and better until we could beat them off the court, even though they were 15 years older than us.”
This mentality to always improve has helped them succeed in everything they do. In basketball, their losses fuel their motivation to improve. “When I lose a game, even if it’s at the park, I won’t just move on. The next game we play, I’ll go even harder,” Elan said. David said that he will never be satisfied when it comes to basketball because he would lose the drive to work hard.
Their relationship also contributes to their success. “We play exactly alike, so the competition we give each other really helps us get better,” said David. During the summer of 2015, they signed up for an outside league tournament and were unbeatable. They played in perfect harmony and made each other better. They ended up winning the tournament, and loved every minute of it.
Both David and Elan have already made South history, being the only freshman varsity basketball players in the history of the school. David was also an All-Long Island freshman; he had 78 three-point shots, the second most in Long Island, during his sophomore season. Both are excited to play with each other for the first time since seventh grade and leave an impact on South’s team. “We just wanna leave a legacy, and show the students something they’ve never seen before.”