Aiight...it's 4:20 am on Saturday morning and I'm one those cats that the minute I wake I just get up out the bed. I've always done it...never could lay and look at the sealing. Up...feet hit the floor and let's roll! Well we are in Winston-Salem, NC for our game vs Winston-Salem State University today and I'm sitting at my laptop wit George Howard playing on my iPod. As usual my mind has ALL kinds of thoughts and before i go for a run i wanted to rap wit ya'll or blog. :) lol Come on ya'll just roll wit it!
This week I found out a young fella that I coached in high school died. Now I know things like this happen alot and believe me I've seen alot of folks pass, as you've read in my blogs but I have to get this one out. R.I.P Deveran Ashe! Deveran (mid to late 30's) was a very nice and kind kid who always wanted to do right. He and this story are great examples of what I mean when I tell parents that all flowers don't bloom at the same time and if your child is excelling at sports at a young age...please be humble and try to nourish them and not think that they have arrived and that sports are not the only avenue to succeed.
Well when I got out of college and started coaching at Potomac Sr. high school (by accident and I'll tell that story another day), Taft Hickman (the coach at the time now, at Kempsville High school in VA Beach), had a boat load of talent and his young group had huge potential. Anyway, there was a group of four that were to be the next bigtime recruits and Deveran headed the group! If you have been in the D.C area long enough you know this name. He dominated the AAU & Youth Game scene (he was 14 years old)! He was the best 14 year old in the D.C area by far! The least talented of the group was the one that i gravitated to. He was a nice kid, long & lanky but just aiight as a player. Now I grew to love all these cats but the underdog (or "under doug" as they say in Baltimore...yes that's how they pronounce it!) needed someone to help get him going & I just took the kid under my wing but tried to be there for the others but you know the story. If you got talent, everybody wants to help and be your friend! Anywho, one nite one of the kids steals his sisters car and decides to go pick the fellas up & give everybody a ride where ever they wanted to go. The problem (beside the fact that he didn't have permission) was he didn't have a license (not everyone knew that part). Well two guys get in...the other (wit da single super strict Mom who wouldn't let him go that day) didn't get to go. Long story short, they were coming around a corner and the driver loss control of the car and hit a telephone pole. Car totaled, Deveran was in the front seat (Monty, the slightly taller kid who wasn't there would have been & been in da front seat cause of the leg room) and he sustained and very serious injury to his leg. Everyone in the car (the other 3) required surgery of some kind. One had a rod put in his leg, one had hip surgery and then there was Deveran. Damn! Just like that these young cats athlete careers changed forever. They all eventually played again but it's was never the same. The one that was in the car...Monty Williams, went on to grow to be 6-8, maintained a 4.0 G.P.A, play at Notre Dame and get drafted by the New Knicks, play 10 seasons in the NBA and in now an assistant coach with the Portland Trailblazers. Monty's story is a whole other blog/story but Monty and Deveran stayed in touch for the most part until about 5/6 years ago. I even spoke to "Dev" sometimes and everyone always tried to help but that pride bug stops folks from asking for help sometimes. I don't want to get into details about the events around how Dev got to where he was and why he left this world alone (NO one should go like that). A friend searched the local hospitals in New Jersey (where Deveran was bunking wit some friends) because she hadn't heard from him and found he had passed and the hospital didn't know who to contact! Sad story and there is much more to it. I kept the other cats name out for a reason and after I told Monty the news (and we reminisced)...he asked me to make sure I shared that story with my children but thought I would share it wit ya'll too! Sorry "Dev"...R.I.P young brotha...see you on the other side!
I know it was a long blog but I wanted to share, get it off my chest, whateva you want to call it! There will be a chapter with full details in my book that I have been planning on writing for a while now. Aiight ya'll! I'm going to workout and get ready for our game today. It's on ESPNU at 6 p.m then we are off to Orangeburg, South Carolina for Monday's game at South Carolina State!
8 comments:
As a friend of Deveran "Bleek" Ashe, I would like to first say that he in no way left this world alone! He was surrounded by family and friends whom sent in home in the only way he would see fit, with beautiful words and harmonic jazz. Bleek had loving friends by his side every moment of his last days.(whom I believe would be VERY hurt and disgusted by you insinuating he was alone.)
While I understand that in his younger years "Dev" was know as a ball player but in his later years "Bleek" was known as a beautiful Poet. I believe that it is greatly inaccurate to insinuate that Bleek's parents didn't nourish him. What you didn't know is that his Mother had been nourishing his writing talent since he was a child. And as evidence of that he always stated proudly that his mother was his favorite Poet!
Bleek was living in Newark, NJ (NOT bunking) where he had made a name for himself as a Poet. He was currently performing his Blue Sonnets Production at Rutgers Newark for the Jazz Studies Department along with several other Poets and was featured at the NJ Performing Arts Center several time. The people whom he touched in Newark are doing everything they can so that the world and especially the city of Newark will NEVER forget what a GREAT man and Poet he was.
I know you meant no harm in posting this blog but in respect to his Parents, Widow and two beautiful sons it would be greatly appreciated if you took it down. People "Google" Bleek to search for his work and I would hate for them to come across a blog that was full of inaccuracies about parts of his life.
I leave you by saying Bleek wanted to be known as a Poet as he said in his last days and I would GREATLY appreciate you calling him such!
R.I.P.
Deveran “Bleek” Ashe
10/23/72 - 2/1/2009
If there is anyone who comes across this blog and would like to see Bleek remembered the way he truly was please visit by blog post of a piece of his work:
http://wordvomitt.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/bebop-train/
I agree 200% with the others you need to remove this blog.
You put yourself out there like you are/was a role model, but what you have done has proven that you are a fraud, gossip, trouble maker NOT a role model. Any one that may have looked up to you should not now, and as far as I’m concerned never should have!
Questions for you
1.) Why would you hurt his loved ones?
2.) Why would YOU even if what you wrote was the truth put something like this on the World Wide Web?
3.) Now that you know the truth why haven’t you removed it?
4.) We have all fallen short have you?
5.) Would you want someone to slander your name in life or death?
Dealing with the death of a loved one is hard enough then to see untrue stories about your loved one is a slap in the face. And I quote “There will be a chapter with full details in my book that I have been planning on writing for a while now.” I hope the family sues your pants off if you decide to include this trash in your book.
If nothing else it seems as if you are a professional, so please do the right thing and remove this blog!
I am sadden that it has taken me so long to respond to this, but frankly I could not believe the information that was posted. I did my own investigation and I have come to the realization that the information is completely inaccurate. This was a loving and caring person that was devoted to his family to a fault. There is no way on this green earth that he would have died alone. I am in support of the widow that you do a retraction to the blog that you posted above. Please let the people know that truly cared about Deveran that he was not alone. I remember a wonderful person that touched too many lives not to be surrounded by friends, family, and people who truly cared about his disposition. Please call the person out that gave you this erroneous information. I look to you to do the right thing if you truly did respect, and care about Deveran Ashe.
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