DETROIT (4/30/2020) -- When most people are offered an athletic scholarship, they usually accept it. After all, who wouldn't want their college paid for especially after putting in all that hard work in high school and in college, all those practices, end line sprints, tireless days and dedication to get better.

Well for former Titan Hilton Napoleon '02, he knew his goal was to help people and he started that process even before he graduated from the University.

"I was a walk-on, but I had an academic scholarship and going into my senior year, assistant coach Bacari Alexander wanted to put me on scholarship and I just told him, 'no that it's okay,'" said Napoleon. "I don't want to take a scholarship from someone who might need it. I got an academic scholarship and I didn't feel the need to go on a scholarship to validate anything. My teammates, we all treated everyone the same, regardless if I was on a scholarship or not so I didn't feel compelled to go on one." 

Napoleon is now a lawyer in Miami, Florida, specializing in civil litigation, civil rights violations, federal and state criminal trials and appeals, post-conviction relief, and governmental administrative proceedings.

His work is about helping those in need, helping those falsely accused and bringing the truth out to the public. He once represented a client who spent 19 months in jail for a homicide that he did not commit, which appeared on "the First 48" television series and received a jury verdict in his client's favor and successfully defended an appeal on the decision. 

"There is a lot of drama and depression that sets in when you are in jail for a crime you didn't commit," said Napoleon. "It is hard for someone to just go back to the community where people believed you committed a crime so its important to go into a court and have a jury say that someone was wrongfully arrested and what the police did was wrong. One of the most important things about civil rights cases is that you feel like you are being vindicated even going through the process and when you get a verdict in your favor, it changes a person's life."

Through his life in Detroit and his family experiences, Napoleon knows that civil litigation is important to society. His dad is current Highland Park Chief of Police Hilton Napoleon and his uncle is Benny Napoleon, former Detroit Chief of Police. He also knows that civil litigation can happen to anyone and to bring the truth forward is something that must be done to help show that abuses in power gives law enforcement a bad name. 

"It happens to all different people over different socioeconomic statuses," said Napoleon. "A lot of my family is in law enforcement and one of the lessons that my uncle and dad taught me was that you have to treat human beings like human beings. The worst thing to do is abuse your power. I got into civil rights because I hate to see law enforcement abuse their powers because of its negative reflection on all law enforcement. My dad and my uncle do not stand for that. My dad told me a story recently about the shoot first and ask questions later mentality and when he was a beat cop, he was in a chase and altercation with someone with a knife and he could have shot him and been justified, but he valued that person's life and that was going to be the absolute last resort for him. I hate to see people abuse their power because its such a negative reflection on all the people who work hard and long hours to protect us."

Napoleon was a standout player in high school in the Motor City, helping Cass Tech to a city championship as a senior. He hit the game-winning shot in the semifinals victory over Cooley and ended his career earning All-City and Honorable Mention All-State honors before enrolling at the University in the fall of 1998. 

He didn't play basketball that first year at Detroit Mercy, but just like he did in high school, he saw a great Titan team on the court, one that would end up winning a game in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. 

"We won a city championship and that was an era where I think it was such a great accomplishment because of the caliber of the players and the teams. It was very difficult back then because the really good players stayed in the city. There was a great winning tradition at Detroit Mercy. E.J. Haralson was there, Jermaine Jackson was a great player, and so many other guys from the city and they were winning and that left an impression on all of us."

He suited up for the Titans for three seasons, and was part of two 20-win campaigns and postseason teams, including the magical 2000-01 team that tied a school record with 25 wins and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT to play in Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

"We had a mentality that even though we are a small school, we can play with anyone," said Napoleon. We went to Connecticut and beat UConn, a team that would end up having some pros, including Caron Butler, a lottery pick. We played big schools and we were competitive and we won, because we didn't back down."

"We had to go on the road for every single game in that postseason. We played a good team at Bradley, played at Dayton which is always tough and at UConn. That was such a crazy environment at Connecticut and for us to go in there and beat them was such an unbelievable experience."

Napoleon credits not only the coaching staff, but the pride players had in themselves and in the city of Detroit that helped the team achieve not only greatness, but the hard work ethic that will always be with him in life.

"Coach (Perry) Watson was a good guy. He was always prepared. He had great assistants around him and he had a way of bringing out the best in everyone. It was quite an experience to be coached by him."

"We had a lot of guys who were comfortable staying home and playing in front of their families. Once some of those early guys decided to stay home or come back, a lot of people followed and that helped us continue to build that strong program and build that pride. We were all from Detroit, all from the city and we wanted to win for Detroit."

Of course for a student-athlete, competition is the best thing that can help someone perform at the highest level and at Detroit Mercy, Napoleon and the Titans were challenged on the court by some of the best players in the city. 

"Another reason for our success was the summer training," said Napoleon. "Howard Eisely, Jalen Rose, Vushaun Leonard, Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor, Anderson Hunt, all those and more would come to Calihan Hall and we would play them in the summertime. It was a great experience to have that type of camaraderie with all of us being from the city. Some of these guys were pros and it boosted our confidence because if we can compete with these guys, then we can compete with anyone and that's how we felt."

Playing a sport and being a student-athlete at Detroit Mercy were two things that helped Napoleon build a strong worth ethic and put him in the position that he is today.  

"Being a student-athlete is vigorous. We would have conditioning at 6 or 7 in the morning and then class at 9 to about noon and then practice in the afternoon and study table after that from 7-9 so we had a schedule we had to follow. One of the biggest things we had was structure and it was hard to get behind because if you did, there was not a lot of time to catch up, so the vigors of being a student-athlete helps you maintain that structure. People see the glamour of being a student-athlete, but they don't see the grit and grind," added Napoleon. 

The challenge in the classroom is also something that he will never forget.

"I started in engineering and switched to computer information systems with a minor in business administration so it wasn't a cakewalk," said Napoleon. "Our teachers were great, but they were tough on us as athletes and we didn't have classes like basket weaving to help us either."

Napoleon grew up in Detroit and he knows he was lucky to have a family in place that pushed education. He didn't grow up in the best of neighborhoods, but he didn't let that get in his way. It was about setting a goal, having people help him along the way and believing that he can achieve whatever goal he set for himself, in his career, in the classroom and in competition.

"Believe in yourself and stay the course. Don't shortchange yourself. Don't be afraid to be different, work hard and believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself and have enough confidence in yourself. You don't accomplish what we did as a program without that mentality," added Napoleon.