The loss of Wayde Sims, his smile and his spirit is an inexcusable tragedy

I will never forget Wayde Sims' goofy smile.

The University Lab freshman flashed it at 14 years old, as he tried to explain to me for the first time the potential he, Skylar Mays and company had together at such a young age.

And the LSU junior couldn't help but let it slip again Wednesday even as we talked about the occasional poor decisions that had stunted his college career at times — and that many of us had hoped he had finally prioritized into his past.

His smirk was always innocent and playful, even at times that necessarily weren't.

I was devastated to wake up Friday to the news that Wayde's future had been cut tragically short — and that that afternoon would be last time I was fortunate enough to see that smile in person.

"I just take every day at a time, because you never know — it could be taken away from you at any day," Wayde told me Wednesday.

I didn't come close to grasping the magnitude of that message.

A few details have started to emerge regarding the early morning shooting that took the 20-year-old Baton Rouge native and basketball star's life far too early.

But the context remains unclear enough that any attempt to paint a complete picture remains speculative.

And, honestly, those aspects of Wayde Sims' murder matter very little.

The LSU basketball team is without one of the most talented players to come through Louisiana in recent years — the 2014-15 Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year.

But, foremost, the Sims family, the Tigers and the community are without their son, teammate and generally special and lovable young man.

"He has had his moments, but for the most part, he does a great job, he's a great teammate, and like I said, a great person," Mays said Wednesday.

Added Will Wade, on Friday: "Everybody on the team loved him. He was the team jokester, team prankster, always had a smile and boppin' around. He got us going in practice. He'd do anything for anybody on our team. He's one of the few guys on our team that has a car. He was always driving guys around, driving guys back and forth to Walmart if they needed to make a trip. He'd do anything for anybody. He helped all the other guys move in because he was able to move in early. He's just a phenomenal guy."

The second-year LSU coach's love and care for Wayde remained evident even through the missteps.

That character and light-heartedness carried through even the lowest moments — and made people close to Wayde all the more excited to feel the best was still ahead.

"He was just growing and growing and growing," Will Wade said. "That's what's so tough. He was just on an upward trajectory — a big-time upward trajectory. It's just tough when it's taken too soon."

Some coward ripped that from Wayde, and from us, on Friday morning in an inexcusable act of violence.

No matter what the circumstances, no error in judgment along his journey warranted this punishment.

"There's problems everywhere, so you just want to educate your guys as best as possible to stay away from those situations," Will Wade said. "Unfortunately, sometimes these lessons are the toughest."

Even thinking Wayde had two more years at LSU remaining, I asked him Wednesday if he had started to think at all about how he might want to be remembered.

"I guess I would say I would want people to know that I'm a hard worker and that I'll do anything to get the job done and anything to help my team win," he said.

I'll never forget his spirit and his smile.