Gunshots ripped through the air as Donnell Beverly, then a UConn guard, made his way up the court.
Beverly had long wanted to compete in a New York City street ball event, to experience the electric environment so many others had hyped up. He had visited UConn teammate Kemba Walker in the Bronx to play with the Huskies star in the Watson Basketball Classic, an annual tournament at the Parque de Los Ninos Playground, just blocks away from Walker’s childhood home. Beverly had expected a memorable time.
Just not like this.
The game immediately halted. Players scattered. Spectators ran. In the chaos, Beverly said, a human umbrella of about 10 to 15 people formed around Walker. He had emerged by then as a UConn standout and a probable future NBA player — maybe even a star. Everyone could see the potential of his future. In that neighborhood, Beverly learned, Walker wore the crown.
“I promise you,” Beverly says, “he was like a god in his…
