The Dallas high school basketball player who was beaten to death in front of his Oak Cliff home last Sunday night was laid to rest Saturday.
Before attending 18-year-old Troy Causey Junior’s funeral, some of his friends had a game to play in Carrollton. They found a way to honor their friend during warm-ups.The pre-game tribute without words was in the form of T-shirts that read, “RIP Troy,” above a color photo of Troy Causey junior and his mother. The players are with Team Texas, a team made up of some of those most talented high school basketball players in the state.
"We just all decided we wanted to represent Troy,” said Elijah Thomas, a junior from Lancaster High School. “He loved us. He was really close to some of us so for us to wear these shirts means a lot."
Some of these guys played basketball with Causey when they were in elementary school. Those who hadn't played with him lately, still recall his athleticism.
"I remember Troy in the fifth grade was the first kid I'd ever seen dunk. He was a freak athlete,” said Austin Grandstaff, a junior from Rockwall High School. “I didn't really talk to him for a while. I played against him in my playoff warm up game. It was pretty cool to see him there and we talked a little bit and I just remember he was a freak athlete and a great kid."
"He had the brightest smile, was very hyper, loved to have fun,” added Thomas. “He loved his mom, he talked about his mom all the time. He was a big mama’s boy."
Team player Elijah Thomas knew Causey (a 6-foot, 6-inch senior forward at Wilmer-Hutchins High School) the best and says it's hard for him to imagine someone wanting to kill his friend.
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"For that to happen to him is very surprising,” said Thomas. I saw him a couple of days before it happened and he was a normal kid, he wasn't mad or sad, he was happy Troy."
Still no arrests have been made, said police.
