{"id":29613,"date":"2016-02-16T10:08:13","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T16:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=29613"},"modified":"2016-02-17T12:16:14","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T18:16:14","slug":"wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildkits honor fallen teammate on Senior Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Julia Cardi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiffany Rice cherishes the smallest details about her son, Dajae Coleman. She remembers how his impressions of Stewie Griffin from \u201cFamily Guy” would bring her to laughter no matter her mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what made him Dae,\u201d said Rice, laughing again at the memory. \u201cHe had this good sense of humor that he wore outwardly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Evanston Wildkits celebrated those memories on Friday night in a ceremony honoring the team\u2019s seniors before the final home game of the season, played against the Glenbrook South Titans. The Wildkits\u2019 73-38 win made Trevon Marshall, who is Coleman\u2019s cousin, Dylan Mulvihill, Charlie Maxwell, and Micquel Roseman\u2019s last home game a memorable one.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But Coleman, who would also be a senior, was missing. In September 2012, three weeks into his freshman year, he was shot leaving a party in a case of mistaken identity.<\/p>\n

Coleman showed both academic and athletic promise. He participated in the Wildkits\u2019 Evanston Pride feeder basketball program in eighth grade, and planned to play for Evanston in high school. He would have loved to attend the University of Kentucky after graduating this spring.<\/p>\n

But he never got the chance. So on Friday night, in honor of his memory, Wildkits coach Mike Ellis presented Rice with a framed jersey bearing Coleman\u2019s No. 3. The team also retired the number from its feeder program.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should\u2019ve been a teammate of theirs,\u201d said Ellis. \u201cThose are experiences in coaching that, when you get into the sport, you don\u2019t think [you\u2019re] going to have to help people deal with situations like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcome with emotion, Rice broke down when Ellis presented her with the jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant Dajae is still a part of this team,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s not here physically, but his presence is felt when they play.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Evanston graduate herself, Rice comes to the basketball games to support Marshall and the rest of the team. \u201cI\u2019m the loudest cheerleader in the stands,\u201d she laughed. \u201cI\u2019ve always felt a strong connection to his peers, and that was enhanced when he passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall vividly remembers the warmth Coleman brought to his life. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t just my cousin,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was like my brother, my best friend\u2026If you saw him, you saw me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall says his favorite memory of Coleman is of one Christmas break during middle school when he and a friend slept over for a week at Coleman\u2019s house just because, laughing and having fun.<\/p>\n

Marshall has worn No. 3 since his freshman year. He plans to wear it as long as he plays basketball. This season, the Wildkits also sport warmup t-shirts bearing Coleman\u2019s name and number.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about him every day,\u201d said Marshall. \u201cEverything I do, I just want to make sure I go my hardest\u2026because I know he would do the same. I\u2019m just doing something that he didn\u2019t have the chance to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rice sees her son live on in how Marshall plays basketball. \u201cHe plays like Dajae played,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they never really had that similar style [before]. Dajae was a good perimeter shooter, and Trevon has really developed that skill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wildkits\u00a0felt his presence on Friday with their 35-point win, which improved their record to 21-2.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to say he\u2019s the sixth man,\u201d said Rice. \u201cThe angel in the outfield.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: The Wildkits wear warm-up t-shirts with Coleman’s No. 3. (Julia Cardi\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Julia Cardi Tiffany Rice cherishes the smallest details about her son, Dajae Coleman. She remembers how his impressions of Stewie Griffin from \u201cFamily Guy” would bring her to laughter no matter her mood. \u201cThat\u2019s what made him Dae,\u201d said Rice, laughing again at the memory. \u201cHe had this good sense of humor that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":241,"featured_media":29623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,585],"tags":[597,328,1048,192],"class_list":["post-29613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2016","tag-basketball","tag-evanston","tag-high-school-sports","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\nWildkits honor fallen teammate on Senior Night - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildkits honor fallen teammate on Senior Night - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Julia Cardi Tiffany Rice cherishes the smallest details about her son, Dajae Coleman. She remembers how his impressions of Stewie Griffin from \u201cFamily Guy” would bring her to laughter no matter her mood. \u201cThat\u2019s what made him Dae,\u201d said Rice, laughing again at the memory. \u201cHe had this good sense of humor that he […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-16T16:08:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-17T18:16:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/02\/Coleman-t-shirts.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"864\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliacardi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliacardi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/\",\"name\":\"Wildkits honor fallen teammate on Senior Night - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/02\/Coleman-t-shirts.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-16T16:08:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-17T18:16:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/bc996aa79d57afd949c53ab8e63f036d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wildkits-honor-fallen-teammate-on-senior-night\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/02\/Coleman-t-shirts.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/02\/Coleman-t-shirts.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":864,\"caption\":\"The Wildkits wear warm-up t-shirts with Coleman's No. 3. 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