Sweet home Atlanta: 'P.O. Boys' back

Jeff Newton and A.J. Moye will enjoy their trip back to Atlanta, the city they both call home. \nIt's a warm and fuzzy story, full of anecdotes and emotion. \nBut make no mistake, IU's two top bench scorers aren't headed to the Final Four to visit family and friends or their old stomping grounds. \n"I'm not going there to sightsee," said Moye, a sophomore guard. "I've seen everything in Atlanta. I'm not going there to relax or have a family reunion.\n"I'm going there to beat Oklahoma."\nHe'll get that chance Saturday, when IU faces the Sooners in the Final Four. But amid the talk of defense and offense, emotion seeps through. Part of Moye and Newton's story is splashed across their arms -- and requires some attention. \nMoye and Newton lost a close friend two years ago, when Travis Davenport died of complications from an enlarged heart. Davenport, a 19-year-old, was a fellow basketball player who scoured the gyms of Atlanta to team up with Moye and Newton during summers, Moye said. \nMoye, Newton and Davenport ran around with a group of friends Moye refers to as the "P.O. Boys." When Davenport died during Newton's freshman year at IU and Moye's senior year at Westlake High School, the group of friends decided to etch their friend not only into their memory, but also their skin. \nA tattoo rests on Moye's right arm, with the words "One Luv" wrapped around a picture of an angel clad in a basketball jersey. No. 40 and "Trap," Davenport's nickname, are on the jersey.\n"I miss him," Moye said. "Not a day goes by where I don't think about him. We all had his name and jersey tattooed on us."\nDavenport's personality also made an impression on Moye, who said he tried to live his life by the guidelines set forth by Davenport, who attended a rival high school of Westlake, where Moye graduated from in 1999. Newton graduated in 1998 from Mays High School, another rival. Through high school games against one another and pick-up contests on the same side, the three became friends. \nMoye dips his head and reveals an emotional side when discussing Davenport and the effect his death has had. \n"I feel like this whole year he kind of guided us through," Moye said. "He's like a guardian angel for Newt and me and the rest of our friends."\nIt seems that Davenport has watched. Newton and Moye are IU's third- and fourth-leading NCAA Tournament scorers, respectively, and both have been instrumental in IU's first Final Four trip since 1992. Since the beginning of this school year, Moye and Newton have had their eye on a sentimental trip back to Atlanta. \nAfter IU's one-point win over Duke and a lights-out shooting performance against Kent State, IU erased the memories of NCAA Tournament follies and got Moye and Newton their wish. \n"We said it back in August," Newton said. "Me and A.J. said we were going home to the Final Four, and it worked out."\nWith the trip home comes visits with family and friends, which Moye said he hopes to do once the Hoosiers arrive in Atlanta tonight. Next on the to-do list is getting fans tickets, something Newton said hasn't been a snap. \n"Everybody I know wants tickets," Newton said. "I have no idea how I'm going to get them."\nBut there's someone who won't need a ticket. Moye said he's sure Davenport will be somewhere in the Georgia Dome. \n"I know he'll be watching over us," he said.