A basketball tournament will be held in Duncanville this weekend in honor of a Dallas ISD star student-athlete who was killed in a car crash.
Deshawn Jagwan, 18, was a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas at the time of his death in April. Jagwan’s family accepted his diploma weeks later, as he graduated with honors.
“I have to trust that God had a plan for him and believe that. My family, we all do,” his mother Charlotte Stephens said.
Stephens said her son was a talented basketball player and had dreams of playing professionally. He received an offer to play on the collegiate level and received an offer for a full scholarship from Park University Gilbert in Arizona shortly after his death.
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This weekend, a tournament will be held at the Duncanville Field House with proceeds benefiting graduating high school seniors.
Stephens said many of the players who are signed up to participate this weekend played basketball with her son over the years.
“He had dreams of playing in college and certainly, the next level, NBA. Just so many high hopes and aspirations that weren’t fulfilled. We’re just going to keep the movement going for him,” she said. “One of the things he wrote in his farewell to Woodrow Wilson was to keep moving. He wanted the players to believe in themselves.”
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Stephens said initially, she expected about 10 teams to sign up. As it would turn out, more teams expressed interest in showing their support and she said the deadline to register was extended twice. There are now dozens signed up this weekend, she said.
“It’s just a testament to who Deshawn was. He was the compassionate, sensitive, caring friend, brother you could have had,” she said. “At his services, we figured we would have only 100 or 200 people there. I’m told it was way over 1,100 people there. I think that’s a testament to who he was at such a young age.”
Shortly after Deshawn’s passing, the family launched the Deshawn Jagwan Athletic Foundation. The foundation has been able to provide student-athletes with scholarship money.
The tournament begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20.
