The image Karl Harris has of his father is painted by old photos and the stories his brothers tell.

His older brother, both best friend and basketball running mate, was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity. The train ride to school through Chicago's South Side delivered daily horrors: drugs, gang violence, death.

Every time life knocked him down, Harris shoved right back. He worked tirelessly to earn a Division I scholarship, walked across the stage as his family's first male college graduate.