NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Isaiah Williams, tears filling his heavy brown eyes, cradles his iPhone in his right hand and begins thumbing through names of the dead.

P-Roc. Smoove. Nightmare. Goldie. Capo. TG. Reekie.

Khalif. Ram. Hot Dog. Dez. Wesley.

Ram Stacks. B-Rod. Live. Munuc.

Sixteen names in 20 seconds.

"I was close with all of them," Williams says, his cheek catching a tear. "But they was in the streets and all of them got killed by gun violence."

Over the next few days, he remembers eight more. So when Williams finishes his macabre roll call, there are 24 names -- 24 friends from around the treacherous section of Newark locals call "The Jungle."

Then Isaiah Williams, arguably the most important player on a college basketball team poised to become a darling of March Madness, imagines what would happen if his younger brother, Kevin, ends up on that list.

"I'd probably be done," Williams, 22, says, more tears falling. "I probably can't take it no more."

He wrestles the thought because Kevin Williams, a year younger, has fought the pull of the streets for years. And it was just 14 months ago when Isaiah, a well-traveled, 6-foot-7 junior guard on the verge of stardom and a professional career, walked away from Iona without telling anyone because his brother was in the middle of the trouble.

Isaiah was willing to risk his ticket out of The Jungle -- willing to throw his own life away -- to save Kevin's.

Williams eventually returned to Iona and has helped the Gaels to a 24-7 record this season and a No. 1 seed in their conference tournament, which began Thursday.

But The Jungle hangs over him.

His girlfriend, coaches and teammates say Isaiah spontaneously bursts into tears. And he checks each phone message and text like a man dreading the worst.

What happened now?

Whose name is next on the list?

And will he have to return home to save Kevin again?

Or worse, bury him?

CONSTANT VIOLENCE



The Oscar Miles Village housing complex sprawls across the city's Central Ward, between MLK Boulevard and Springfield Avenue. The mostly two-story apartment clusters have metal bars on windows and front doors.

The Jungle gets its name from an open area in the back of the complex, where tall oaks rise between the buildings, creating the aura of an urban jungle.

"I can't even count how many shootings and homicides we've had there," says a veteran officer in the Newark police department, who insisted on anonymity because he or she is not authorized to speak publicly. "It's just a multi-faceted scene where money, gangs, friction from the turf war, internal disputes ... all that stuff bubbles up and you have the violence that's the residue."

Apartment 39B was Isaiah Williams' home growing up as a child in the The Oscar Miles Village. The 2-story apartment complex is referred to as "The Jungle" because of the large oak trees and violence that occurs in the area. Newark , NJ 2/25/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

On a recent morning, Kevin Williams shows visitors the neighborhood where he and Isaiah grew up. A man loiters on a stoop in the 20-degree chill. Kevin explains the man is keeping lookout for police or rivals. Sirens dominate what should be a quiet morning.

"You couldn't even sit out in front of your house," says Williams' mother, Charlezetta. "Every other day they shooting out over there."

Although Isaiah, Kevin and the police veteran say the Jungle is controlled by the Grape Street Crips street gang, there are frequent clashes over territory.

"My neighborhood, it's Crips, and then right around the corner is Bloods," Isaiah Williams says. "And then right around the corner is another Crips, and then right around the corner is Bloods.

"You can't even walk to the store."

Charlezetta lived in apartment 39B on Mercer Street with her mother, three sons and a daughter until moving three blocks away six years ago. Isaiah was the man of the house, the family's protector, and says his dad was never around. He shared a bed with Kevin until they were 11, and Charlezetta dressed them identically as if they were twins.

And always, Charlezetta tried to keep her boys inside. She bought them a mini-hoop to play in their room and shelled out money for every video game system.

But Isaiah still would play basketball all day at the Mercer Street courts on the corner of Springfield Avenue, coming home with hands black as coal from dribbling.

Death was a frequent interruption.

In January 2008, a man who taught Isaiah how to play basketball -- "Smooch," whose real name was Samir Wilkins -- was stabbed to death in a Manhattan nightclub.

Kevin Williams, brother of Isaiah Williams, looks out into the street while touring his old apartment complex in the Oscar Miles Village in Newark, NJ. The 2-story apartment complex is referred to as "The Jungle" because of the large oak trees and violence that occurs in the area. 2/19/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In July 2010, another mentor -- "P-Roc," whose real name was Darnel Slaughter -- was shot to death in a car parked on Broome Street, a block from Isaiah's home.

Around the same time, Isaiah says, he survived three shootings. The first was outside the JFK rec center two blocks from The Jungle, when a car drove by and fired into a crowd.

The second followed a fight between Isaiah's friends and neighborhood rivals. The third came when Isaiah was in a car that ended up in a rival neighborhood and was sprayed with 10 shots.

Somehow, nobody was hurt in the shootings.

"Back home, if they want to kill somebody, they're just going to come with a machine gun and just shoot in the crowd," says Isaiah, who carries matching "Jungle Boyz" tattoos on his forearms. "They don't care who's out there. It could be your mother, your grandmother. If they want to kill somebody, they're just going to shoot the crowd and just keep going."

These are the same streets Kevin has battled off and on for so many years. Isaiah, whom everyone in the neighborhood still calls "Ockee," says he always steered clear of selling drugs or pledging allegiance to a gang.

But Kevin admits being drawn in.

"The money, the clothes and the females, and you get known by doing this," Kevin says. "I liked being noticed. I liked wearing bright colors. I liked to stand out.

"When you making the money, it feel good. But you know you gotta look over your back, that's not good."

CHANGE OF HEART



Sinewy, fearless and armed with a picture-perfect jump shot, Isaiah Williams entered Science Park High in 2006 as one of New Jersey's top-rated freshmen. He played junior varsity that year and expected to start on the varsity team as a sophomore. When that didn't happen, he stopped going to school.

He says he played basketball all day at the courts on Springfield Avenue, confused and lost.

"I had an 'I-don't-give-a-(damn) attitude' where I don't care about school,' " he says. "'I'm not going to school. Nobody can make me go to school.' "

After about three months, he knew he had to change. The odyssey that followed sent him through the murky underworld of basketball.

Junior guard Isaiah Williams (1) goes up for a rebound as Iona defeats Manhattan 79-75 in men's basketball at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, NY 2/27/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

He finished his sophomore year bouncing between the NIA School in Newark and a program in Philadelphia named Elite Academy, then spent most of his junior year back at NIA. He resurfaced as a senior in 2010 at Shabazz High, playing only the final 11 games of the season, but helping the team win the Group 2 state championship.

From there: A post-graduate season at the Robinson School in Newark, another wasted year sitting out at Marshall University, then onto State College of Florida in Bradenton.

Isaiah flourished in Florida, averaging 17 points and 8.3 rebounds per game on his way to conference Player of the Year honors. He also earned his associate's degree in the arts.

Iona welcomed him in 2013.

After eight schools in five states, Isaiah Williams was a Division 1 scholarship player. "I was shocked that I made it," Isaiah says. "It was like a dream."

It didn't take long for him to almost give it all back.

A DESPERATE DECISION



There were 111 homicides in Newark in 2013, the most in 23 years. The Jungle was a virtual war zone. In January, a teenager was shot and killed on the 200 block of Court Street, according to police. Five months later, a counselor at Speedway Avenue School and another adult were killed on Mercer Street.

"The place was just really insane," the police veteran says.

Then on Nov. 8, a friend of Isaiah's was gunned down. Abdul Healy, 27 -- a former basketball player at Newark Central High and Union County College known as "Hot Dog" for his flashy moves -- was shot multiple times in broad daylight on Eagles Parkway.

Ten days later, Rahmel Johnson, 20 -- known as "Ram" -- was shot and killed on Broome Street. Johnson was among Kevin Williams' closest friends.

Isaiah was 35 miles away, starting his first year at Iona, but his phone kept pulling him back to The Jungle.

Coaches and teammates say Isaiah was bursting into tears at practice. "He's breaking down and you realize, 'Oh my God. Another one,' " Iona head coach Tim Cluess recalls.

Isaiah Williams looks down as he is walking on the treadmill during a rehab session for his foot injury at the Hynes Athletic Center at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. Isaiah Williams, better known as Ockee by his friends and family, is a Newark native who escaped "The Jungle" and landed a spot playing division 1 basketball at Iona College. Williams', 22, has had 24 friends who have been killed. 2/16/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Teammates wondered how Isaiah held it together.

"It's not just like, 'My best friend got killed,' which is hard enough to take," says Iona senior forward David Laury, Isaiah's closest friend on the team. "It's like, 'One of my best friends got killed.' Two months later, 'Another one of my best friends got killed.' Another month later, 'Another one of my best friends got killed.' These are kids that he grew up with from around, like, sandbox time. It was just ridiculous."

Rahmel Johnson's death particularly shook Isaiah.

That could have been Kevin, he thought. Johnson and Kevin were close friends and had been together only five minutes before Johnson was killed.

Isaiah tried to focus on basketball and schoolwork, but he couldn't stop thinking about his brother.

He played against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 14, 2013, scoring eight points and grabbing three rebounds in a 102-89 loss. A couple days later, he packed a bag and left Iona, arranging a ride from a friend back home. He didn't tell coaches or teammates, afraid they'd try to change his mind.

Isaiah knew he was risking everything. But "I just ain't want to get a call that my little brother was killed," he says. "I'd rather be there to protect him than get a phone call."

When Cluess learned Isaiah was gone, he thought he'd never see him again, "fearful that he was either going to be dead or in jail," the coach said.

But Cluess actually understood.

"It was like, 'If I go back there, I'm going to end up like one of my friends. If I don't go back, my brother's going to end up like that. So what do I do?' " Cluess says. "It was a crazy dilemma in life. Any loving brother -- guess what? You're going to sacrifice your own life for your brother."

Back in Newark, Isaiah says he literally pulled Kevin off the streets and into the safety of the house. They watched TV, played video games and talked. He urged his brother to get a job. He offered to move him into his dorm room at Iona. He told Kevin, 'C'mon. You're not built for this life.' "

The family also was having financial problems because Charlezetta couldn't work her security job after she was injured breaking up a fight. So Isaiah helped sell chili and pizza from his uncle's lunch truck. He called friends and former coaches to secure loans, enough to help pay some bills.

He spent about three weeks in Newark. Slowly, his girlfriend, Iona student Ille Menendez, and Laury worked on getting him back to New Rochelle.

A picture of Isaiah Williams and his brother Kevin Williams with matching outfits growing up. Newark, NJ 2/19/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

"I asked him, 'How are you going to help your family now by going home?' " Laury says. "You could help them more by playing basketball and possibly making it to the NBA or overseas and making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then you'll really be able to help your family."

Isaiah talked to Iona coaches, too. The Gaels lost four of five without him. They told Isaiah they needed him. The team needed him. And Isaiah had to return if he truly wanted to help his family.

With his brother safe and vowing to stay off the streets, Isaiah rejoined Iona in early January, and the Gaels won 14 of their final 17 games.

Kevin attended as many games as he could.

THRIVING AT IONA



The off-campus house Isaiah shares this year with seven students is quintessential college -- dirty floors, a Fry Baby in the kitchen and a sign hanging in the foyer that reads "5 O'Clock Somewhere Ave." He says he's doing well balancing books and basketball as he works toward a degree in criminal justice and currently sports a 3.0 grade-point average thanks, in part, to Wednesday evening date nights with Menendez at the library.

The biggest difference between New Rochelle and Newark is obvious, Isaiah says.

"Here, you can walk outside around 11 o'clock and you don't have to worry," he says. "Back home, once the sun goes down, you need to be in the house. Not even -- when the sun's up, you still not safe."

Even with Isaiah at school, his presence is felt in the family's Newark home. His associate's degree hangs next to the front door. The living room alcove is filled with 26 trophies and dozens of medals. Framed pictures of Isaiah dot the walls.

This season has been his coming-out party on the court. He averages 13.5 points and is shooting a remarkable 51 percent from the floor. Cluess calls Isaiah the team's "most important player" and says "nobody plays harder."

Laury, the preseason Conference Player of the Year, says his teammate is "the X-factor."

"He's everywhere on the floor," Laury says. "He's going to block shots, he's going to rebound, he's going to bring energy and he can shoot the ball from anywhere."

After suffering a foot injury, Isaiah Williams, junior guard for the Iona men's basketball team, does a rehab session in the pool at the Hynes Athletic Center at Iona College. Williams' has tattoos across his body to represent his family and friends who have passed away. New Rochelle, NY 2/16/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Now the Gaels, with their breakneck pace and stable of marksmen shooters, have been pegged as an early favorite to play Cinderella in this year's NCAA Tournament. Iona is tied for seventh in the nation in scoring (79.6 points per game), second in 3-pointers made (304) and 14th in 3-point percentage (.399).

Despite easily winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season title, they most likely will need to win the conference tournament Monday night to play in March Madness.

But just as Isaiah was working hardest to get his family out of Newark, he suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot in mid-January that required surgery, costing him 12 games.

"Everything was going well and then this injury took basketball away from me," Isaiah says, fighting tears again.

He attacked his rehab, turning a 10-week layoff into one he conquered in six, making it back for the Gaels' final home game of the season, Feb. 27 against archrival Manhattan.

Kevin and the rest of the family have vowed to make the game.

CHASING A DREAM



The sold-out Hynes Athletic Center is ready to burst as Iona goes through warm-ups last Friday. Decked in his white No. 1 jersey with maroon and gold trim, Isaiah feels the adrenaline pumping through his body.

Before tip-off against Manhattan, the PA announcer calls for the crowd's attention. In a ceremony that feels all too familiar for Isaiah, there's a moment of silence for former Iona recruit Michael Haynes, who was shot to death near his home in Chicago in July of 2012. Haynes' face flashes on the video screen as players bow their heads and the gym falls to a hush.

Another reminder of death.

Minutes later, the game starts and the crowd comes alive. Kevin and Charlezetta are running late, but just as they enter the gym, Cluess turns and motions for Isaiah.

Junior guard Isaiah Williams (1) of Iona peers over a Manhattan men's basketball player as Iona defeats Manhattan 79-75 in men's basketball to a sold-out crowd at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, NY 2/27/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

With 16:54 left in the half, a whistle halts the game.

"Coming in for the Gaels, please welcome back, No. 1, Isaiah Williams!" the PA announcer calls.

As Kevin makes his way to his seat behind the Iona bench, a smile crosses his face. Charlezetta nods and claps.

In no time, Isaiah sprints down the floor and swats a shot eight feet in the other direction, bringing the crowd to its feet. He drills a 3-pointer from the corner. Kevin watches in awe, hanging on every play.

Iona caps its regular-season championship with a 79-75 victory. Isaiah finishes with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

In the post-game locker room, Cluess delivers an impassioned speech fueled by the memory of Haynes. He talks about doing the right things on the court and in life.

"I've had players who haven't made it off the streets," Cluess tells his players. "I told you my college story. Teammate after teammate after teammate -- jail, drugs, dead. I don't want to see one of your faces end like Mike Haynes ended up. It hurt tonight when I heard his name and saw his picture. I want better in your lives."

The words cut deep with Isaiah, sitting quietly at his locker. He thinks about Kevin, always Kevin.

Isaiah talks to the media, showers, gets dressed and comes out to the gym. He is met by a swarm of kids.

Isaiah Williams hands out a Gatorade after the basketball game to a group of young fans as his brother Kevin Williams looks on. Iona defeats Manhattan 79-75 in men's basketball at the Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, NY 2/27/15 (Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

As Isaiah signs autographs, Kevin makes his way through the crowd. He reaches Isaiah and teases him about his closely trimmed beard, doing what brothers do.

Then, he watches Isaiah signs more autographs. The kids are shouting random thoughts.

"How tall are you?"

"Are you a freshman?"

"I guarantee you're better than all the Knicks players!"

Kevin is playing it cool. He stares at Isaiah, pride filling his chest, waiting patiently with his hands clasped behind his back. But there's no outward emotion, no glow.

Then, a little kid approaches Kevin, who stands next to Isaiah. The brothers have the same upright way of walking, the same angular jaw and placid eyes.

"Is that your brother?" the little kid asks.

Finally, Kevin smiles.

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com.

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