Laughter, Tears Fill Memorial for D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler
Once, when Devin Chandler was 10, he hopped out of the family car and “put on a one-kid dance-off in the parking lot.” His family shared the video with UVA athletics director Carla Williams this week. “His rhythm was suspect,” she said, “but his confidence was never in doubt.”
When D’Sean Perry was 6, he wanted to be the Red Power Ranger for trick-or-treating. “He wore the red suit and the red helmet for Halloween and didn’t take it off until after Thanksgiving,” Williams said. “The superhero.”
Lavel Davis Jr. talked about his hometown of Ridgeville, South Carolina, with such pride and enthusiasm, “He made it seem like it was the biggest city in the world,” said teammate Elijah Gaines, from New York. “I’m pretty sure there’s only 2,000 people in there.”
Actually, it’s 1,500.
On Saturday, John Paul Jones Arena swelled to six times the population of Davis’ beloved Ridgeville to bid farewell to him, Chandler of Huntersville, North Carolina, and Perry of Miami. More than 9,000 University of Virginia students, faculty and members of the community gathered to honor the players who “were kind, they were funny, they were full of energy,” said UVA President Jim Ryan. “They were serious students. They were sons and grandsons. They were brothers. They were hard workers.”
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