Public memorial for Kersey set for March 2

[DiamondThief]

Feb. 23 - The Blazers have announced there will be a public memorial for former player, and team ambassador and director of alumni relations Jerome Kersey on March 2. 

Kersey passed away of a pulmonary embolism on Feb. 18. He played the first 11 years of his career for the Blazers.

The event will begin at 4 p.m. and will be held at Veterans Memorial Coliseum across the street from Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. It is free and open to the public. Kersey last played for the Blazers at the Coliseum during the 1994-95 season. He was made available in the league's expansion draft the summer of 1995 and selected by the Toronto Raptors. The team began playing at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter (then Rose Garden) the 1995-96 season.

The event will be televised live on CSNNW.

Kersey enjoyed a 17-year NBA playing career which took him to the Warriors, Lakers, Sonics, Spurs and Bucks following his stint in Portland. He won a championship as a member of the Spurs in 1999. After retiring in 2010, he served as an assistant coach in various capacities with a number of teams.

Kersey was drafted by the Blazers in the second round in 1984 and earned a spot in the starting lineup during the 1987-88 season. He was the starting small forward on the Blazers teams which made it to the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992, and which set a franchise record with 63 wins in 1991.

He held career averages of 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, recording his Blazers high averages of 19.2 points in 1987-88 and 8.4 rebounds in 1989-90.

Kersey attended Longwood College (Virginia), where he where he set school records for points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots while making 57% of his baskets. As a senior, his rebounding average of 14.2 led all NCAA Division II players. He was inducted into Longwood's Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

In Kersey's memory, donations may be made to three charities:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area
  
• Caddies 4 Cure
• Children's Cancer Association

Cards, letters and other condolences may be sent to:

The Jerome Kersey Family
c/o Portland Trail Blazers
One Center Court, Suite 200
Portland, OR 97227
[phone]

- ANM/MKM


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[SurferGirl]

I don't remember Jerome Kersey playing at all but after seeing the outpouring of emotion, it's clear he was pretty remarkable. That's what I like about following the Blazers. They really honor one of their own. You would never see this much from an L.A. team.