Alabama's Jermareo Davidson mourns brother's death

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Jermareo Davidson is mourning the death of his older brother, Dewayne Watkins, the latest in a string of personal tragedies for the Alabama center.<br> <br> Davidson learned of his brother&#39;s death upon returning to Tuscaloosa after the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide beat North Carolina State 82-75 Wednesday night, the Montgomery Advertiser reported on its Web site Thursday.<br> <br> ``I have never known any student-athlete, from the time I was a player to now, who has had to endure so much heartache in such a short period of time,&#39;&#39; Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried said. ``Our thoughts, our prayers and our hearts are with Jermareo, his mother Madonna and his family.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Watkins was shot in the neck on Nov. 7 in Norcross, an Atlanta suburb, by an unknown assailant. He had been paralyzed from the neck down and on a ventilator since the shooting.<br> <br> When Davidson visited his brother in Atlanta&#39;s Grady Hospital the following weekend, the vehicle he was riding in flipped over on Interstate 20. His girlfriend, Nikki Murphy, was taken to Grady Hospital, where she died hours later.<br> <br> Entering the season, Davidson was a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award for the country&#39;s top college basketball player. Since his brother&#39;s shooting three days before the Tide&#39;s season opener against Jackson State, his personal life has been marred by tragedy.<br> <br> He was forced to withdraw from school on the final day of classes because he missed class time while visiting his brother in the hospital, the Advertiser reported.<br> <br> He has been allowed to return to the team under an NCAA bylaw that grants a waiver to student-athletes who experience tragedy in their immediate family. But he was forced to miss the Dec. 9 Alabama State game.