DURHAM, N.C. -- By the standards of the average 19-year-old, much less the average 19-year-old Division I basketball player, Andre Dawkins' skin is remarkably tattoo-free. So the lone inkings he now wears stand out even more just by their presence.Their meaning packs even more of a punch. On his left wrist is "12-5-09.'' On his right: "Lacey.''
Dawkins, who turned 19 on Sunday, got those tattoos this past summer, an everlasting reminder of the defining occurrence of his freshman year at Duke. In March, he hit a pair of crucial three-pointers in the Blue Devils' regional final victory over Baylor, leading to the program's fourth national championship the first week of April. However, not even that could overshadow what happened last December 5: his 21-year-old sister, Lacey, was killed in a car accident on her way from her Ohio home to see him play a game in Durham.
Dawkins does not speak loudly, but he is not shy about talking, and amidst the grief of that season, he never resisted expressing himself to either his teammates or the public. Sitting in an office in Cameron Indoor Stadium after a workout last week, he said that talking about his sister's death helps him move forward. "I really miss my sister. I love her and I think about her every day,'' he said, "but there's nothing I can do to bring her back.''
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