PORTLAND – The State Fair neighborhood is regarded as one of the worst in Detroit, a maze of streets abandoned by people, scarred with burned-out houses and slipping back to nature, many of its vacant lots smothered now by trees and fields.

Once a vibrant community, it began to deteriorate in the 1980s, and became overrun with crime as drug dealers and prostitutes moved in to displace the residents and businesses that — gradually, then swiftly — moved away.

DeShawn Sims escaped this neighborhood. This is also the neighborhood that shaped him.

He had a younger brother, Marcus Pruitt, shot and murdered on the streets of State Fair. He has a father who was in prison and another brother still there — DeShawn Sims Sr. for drug trafficking; Marshall Pruitt for second-degree homicide.

“It’s remarkable,” said Jon Jennings, the president and general manager of the Maine Red Claws, of Sims’ life.

Then, reconsidering, Jennings said, “Actually it’s not remarkable because that would diminish the person that he is. It is exactly who he is, as a person, that allowed him to overcome those difficulties early in life.”

A FATHER-SON REUNION

Sims, 23, is the best player on the Red Claws. A 6-foot-8 forward able to play inside or outside, he leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.0 points per game — tops in the D-League for rookies — and 8.0 rebounds in 38 games. He plays with an intensity that belies his smile and good nature.

“If he’s not the rookie of the year,” said Jennings, “then I don’t know.”

Sims doesn’t really think about things like that. Real life keeps intruding on his basketball career. Last week his father was released from prison after a 14-year sentence. Sims, who was 9 when his father went to prison and hadn’t seen him since, left after Sunday’s game against Springfield to fly to Detroit to see his father.

“He was real active in my life when I was little,” said Sims before he left. “It will be good to see him.”

The reunion went well. The two talked, had lunch and started to get reacquainted. Sims had told his father before he left that he wanted to take it slowly.

“Everything is going well,” Sims said Tuesday. “I’m trying to keep it at a minimum as far as trying to make it all up in a couple of days. We’ll do it over time.

“This is a situation I’ve never been in before, trying to restore a relationship. You need to take your time and learn about that person all over again.”

THE BENEFITS OF BASKETBALL

DeShawn Sims says he was always mentally tough. That’s what allowed him to get out of State Fair unscathed.

“He was just focused and he didn’t let nothing get in his way,” agreed his mother, Lolita Pruitt, who now lives in downtown Detroit. “He went to practice, he liked basketball. He was a good child. He didn’t let nothing bother him, the surroundings, the neighborhood. He was just focused.”

He started playing regularly in the seventh and eighth grades, after he went through a growth spurt. Because he had to walk to school and his mother feared for his safety, he moved in with his grandmother, whose home was closer to his middle school and Pershing High.

“Growing up was tough,” said Sims. “It was pretty bad, like a lot of those urban neighborhoods. Lot of crime, a lot of crime.”

When his father was sent to prison, basketball coaches became his father figures.

“Before his dad went to jail, he took care of DeShawn. He was a good father,” said Pruitt. “My father died when I was 12, so we really didn’t have any male role models in our family. When his dad went to jail, his basketball coaches sort of took him under their wings.”

And as focused as he was, basketball gave Sims even more direction.

“It gave me discipline, that was the No. 1 thing,” said Sims. “Because you have to be at a place at a certain time. It helps you in life, overall, teaching you to be cordial and respectful. All my coaches growing up exhibited those things. They always told me the right things.”

As Sims continued to develop his game, basketball became his way out.

“(Basketball) was the only escape boat,” said Sims. “I mean, coming from where I came from, the environment, the whole area, you needed the biggest escape boat you could get. Basketball was it. Basketball was definitely my savior.”

Eventually, basketball led him to the University of Michigan, where he became the first member of his family to graduate from college.

He became a star for the Wolverines, ranking in the Big Ten’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage. In 2009, he was a second-team all-Big Ten and led the Wolverines to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years.

But he couldn’t escape tragedy.

ENDURING A TRAGEDY

Three months into his freshman year, Sims was waiting for his younger brother, Marcus, to visit. Marcus was, Sims said, “following my path, the straight and narrow.”

He also was a basketball player, maybe not as driven as Sims, but taller and just as athletic. He had a good future.

Sims took an afternoon nap while he waited. Marcus Pruitt never came. As he was walking near the family church in State Fair, he was shot and killed. Sims awoke from his nap to find dozens of voice mails and text messages on his cell phone.

“It was very hard,” said Sims. “He was the closest person to me at the time. At that point it was almost like losing yourself.”

It was difficult for the entire family but, said Lolita Pruitt, “it brought us closer together.”

She knows it still bothers Sims, saying he has never visited the gravesite.

“That’s one of those things that make me feel real vulnerable emotionally,” said Sims.

But there’s no doubt he misses his brother. He writes about Marcus on his Twitter account, preferring to let his feelings out in small bursts rather than all at once. If growing up in State Fair had an effect on Sims, that was it. He rarely shows his emotions to others, except those absolutely closest to him. “I’ve always been like that,” he said.

A couple years later, Sims’ other brother, Marshall Pruitt, went to jail for second-degree murder. John Beilein, the coach at Michigan, believes the tragedies made Sims grow up quickly.

“I think he grew stronger and stronger as he was faced with tragedy and had to go through a lot more than most young men have to go through,” said Beilein. “He ended up having a great career and got his degree, which is a testament to how focused he was on reaching that goal.”

His teammates at Michigan helped him through it all. They formed a pact, each getting “MBK4L” tattoed on their stomachs. It means, “My Brother’s Keeper For Life.”

“It’s a pact,” said Sims. “We will always stay together, to look out for one another.”

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH

Jennings knew of Sims at Michigan but didn’t see him first-hand until the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational, a gathering of top NBA recruits, last April.

“That’s where you could see his explosiveness, his ability to get his own shot,” said Jennings.

Sims went undrafted by NBA teams but played on the Boston Celtics team coached by Red Claws Coach Austin Ainge in the Orlando Summer League. Then he went to Greece to play professional basketball. It didn’t work out, said Sims, and he applied to play in the D-League.

When Jennings saw Sims’ name on the list of free agents, he immediately put in a claim, never believing the Red Claws, picking behind 13 other D-League teams, would get him. They did.

In his second game with the Red Claws, he scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He hasn’t slowed much.

“I’m not going to sit here and lie to you,” said Jennings. “I never thought in the world that DeShawn Sims was going to be as good as he is so quickly. I knew he had the ability but I am surprised at how quickly he became successful.”

Jennings marvels at Sims’ skills — “He’s got a great jump shot, he runs the floor like a deer, he does so many things on the court” — but is more impressed by his mental and emotional strength.

“I had no idea of the determination and competitiveness that DeShawn brings to the basketball floor,” said Jennings. “He’s had some very tough experiences in his life, but I think he’s taken those experiences, made sure he didn’t repeat the mistakes he saw in the past, and become stronger.

“He’s one of the best young men I’ve been around in my entire career. And I’m not just saying that.”

Beilein, who tracks Sims’ progress through box scores and his Twitter feed, said the Claws haven’t seen anything yet.

“I think his best days in pro basketball are way ahead of him,” said Beilein. “He’s got a very high ceiling.”

More important, said Beilein, is Sims hasn’t forgotten where he came from.

“He hasn’t turned his back on his neighborhood and his friends,” said Beilein. “I believe he’s someone who, as his career develops, will give back to his community.”

He returns to Detroit occasionally to visit his mother and his son, 1-year-old Karon. “I see him at least three times a month,” said Sims, who is not married. “He recognizes me now.”

Sims said he will be a good father. The one thing he wants his son to know is “I will always be there for him.”

Sims’ mother will never leave Detroit — it’s where one of her sons is buried and another is imprisoned nearby — so she cherishes the visits.

“I’m so proud of him, he’s seen so much more that I have ever seen in my life,” she said. “When he comes home, I’m so happy. He’s done very well.”

Sims would like to do a little more. There’s one more step he’d like to take.

“That would be the NBA,” he said. “I would take that as a blessing. But if I don’t

“I feel very fortunate. If I was to stop living today, I’ve been blessed to make it this far. From where I came from, what I saw and the people I lost, to make it this far, I’m happy.”

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com