Clues are found in the thin black stripe that extends across the left shoulder of his jersey. It’s a small piece of material worn in tribute to the person most instrumental in helping his athletic ability to bloom.

And it reminds him of that day.

Ivory was sitting in his room after classes when the phone rang, and his mother's normally soothing voice was transformed into one that delivered harsh reality.

"You really wish it was all a dream," Ivory says about April 11, 1998. "Then you say, 'No, not me.' Then the tears started flowing, and you wish you'd just wake up. Once it never happens, it really sets in. You have to deal with it."

His father, the man after whom he was named and whose athletic skills he still emulates, died suddenly, earlier that day. The devastating news not only left the younger Ivory without a father, but also without his closest friend.

He lost the man who introduced him to the game that now pays for his education. The man who guided him through little leagues and high school. The man who helped fine-tune his collegiate game.

The close bond between father and son today enables Ivory to discuss the ill fortune with the directness a father traditionally uses when speaking of his son.

"He just had a heart attack," Ivory says in slow, short sentences. "He was out cutting grass -- very hot outside. It was one of those tragic things."

Although he was a tremendous athlete, Titus Sr. had fallen victim to the early spring Charlotte heat. It was in that same city where the elder Ivory had made his name legendary, both with his athletic prowess and community leadership.

"Mr. Ivory was a legend in Mecklenburg county (N.C.)," says Leroy Holden, the younger Ivory's former high school basketball coach and close friend of the Ivory family. "He was one of the nicest men I've ever met. He provided a great influence for Titus."

Along with the black stripe on his uniform sleeve in honor of that influence, Ivory also wears a white wristband on each leg in memory of his father.

One simply carries a 33 -- his father's basketball number.

The other displays his father's nickname -- "Big T."

It is these three symbols, along with the recollection of his father's voice, that help keep the elder Ivory very much a part of his son's game.

At the outset of each contest, Ivory says he has a short conversation with his father. He asks him to watch over him, let him know if he's doing anything fundamentally wrong and help him execute properly.

But most importantly, the added attire provides the extra incentive to perform the way his father taught him.

"He's not in the stands or not watching physically," Ivory says. "But, you know he's watching, and it gives you an added boost to go out there and make him proud."

And while his father can't specifically express his admiration for his son's play, his mother can.

With the role of playing a dual parent, Carlenia Ivory tries not only to watch each of her son's games, but also to provide the type of advice her husband would amply supply when Titus needed it.

But it's not as easy as it used to be.

Carlenia and her husband, at the very least, would split duties when Titus and his 18-year-old brother Terrell had games at conflicting times. With Terrell finishing his senior season with Holden's North Mecklenburg High School squad, Carlenia sometimes skips Titus' televised games so she can witness Terrell's games in person.

And although those occasions are rare, and her workload doubled, she still feels guilty when she misses Titus in action.

It's yet another phase of life to which the Ivorys are still adapting.

Titus Sr. and Carlenia were as involved as any parents in their children's activities. He was a scorekeeper at his sons' games, a team parent and their best coach.

When he played basketball recreationally, he brought his boys along. After the men finished their games, he let Titus and Terrell take the court, instructing them on the proper mechanics of the game.

Titus was just 5.

"He put a goal in the hallway, and (Terrell and I) used to play at all hours of the night. He used to get a little ticked at us if we were up late," Ivory says with a smile. "But as long as we were having fun and working on our game, he'd be happy."

He was also happy when the boys performed as well academically as they did athletically, and supported every means they chose to further their education.

Except once.

Upon Titus' graduation from North Mecklenburg, he was offered a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and made a verbal commitment.

However, he had just turned 17 years old and his mother, an educator herself, determined that he needed to refine some academic skills before moving on to the next level.

Although his grade-point average hovered around a 3.7, she suggested Titus enroll in the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., to polish his writing skills.

Titus Sr. was vehemently opposed.

"There were a lot of sleepless nights," Carlenia says. "But it's just a mother's intuition. There are too many black males not prepared for life after college. The first priority is a good education."

Despite his father's objection, Titus registered at Phillips Academy and brought his father's athletic ability that was so famous in the Carolinas to New England.

With Ivory's services the school won championships in football and track and field, while the basketball program advanced further than ever.

"Titus threw our school on his back and carried it to the finish line," says Leon Modeste, Ivory's basketball and football coach at the academy. "The guy was just on another planet. He was an outstanding football player, just like his dad."

The senior Ivory was one of two African Americans who were the first to play in the Shrine Bowl, a high school all-star game between the best football players from North and South Carolina.

And as such, his legacy has a new life. Carlenia has been instrumental in establishing two scholarship funds in her husband's name and also raises money for the community.

The Titus L. Ivory Scholarship Fund, which is divided between rivals West Charlotte High School -- Titus Sr.'s alma mater -- and North Mecklenburg High School, provides a paid college education for one student athlete from each school each year.

For the community, there is the Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund, a drive Titus Sr. led annually, which benefits children in public housing. And there is the Titus L. Ivory Golf Tournament, held for the first time last September, which raised $15,000 for educational programs at the McCrory (N.C.) YMCA.

"I'm going to do it," Carlenia says of maintaining the scholarships and fundraiser. "I don't know how, but I'm going to do it."

As will Titus and Terrell in continuing to deal with their loss. Carlenia explains that each son has both good and bad days in coping with the tragedy. But she is thankful they both have basketball as a means of keeping their minds from dwelling on the adversity.

And both she and Titus are grateful for the support they received from Penn State. Many coaches and faculty attended the funeral. And when he returned to Penn State, Titus' teammates were there to guide him through the rest of the school year.

"We talked to him when he got back and tried to support him," says Nittany Lion forward Gyasi Cline-Heard. "I admire him because that's a hard loss to take."

But most importantly, basketball keeps Titus in touch with his father's spirit.

He remembers the last 28 minutes that his father saw him in game action in the finals of last year's National Invitation Tournament. Titus scored six points and grabbed four rebounds.

He also recalls plans they had if he was ever drafted by an NBA franchise. His father would be his agent.

But he realizes that basketball does not have to be the only path to a prosperous lifestyle.

"Whenever you can take your mind off some of the pain, and you try to remember some of the good times you had, you really don't have anything to worry about," Ivory says.

"As a father, he really prepared me for life. He raised me and my brother very well. I know we're going to be successful."