Jerome Kersey

Jerome Kersey (June 26, 1962 – February 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angeles Lakers (1996–97), Seattle SuperSonics (1997–98), San Antonio Spurs (1998–2000), and Milwaukee Bucks (2000–01). Kersey won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 1999.

Jerome Kersey

Kersey in 2003
Personal information
Born	(1962-06-26)June 26, 1962 Clarksville, Virginia
Died	February 18, 2015(2015-02-18) (aged 52) Tualatin, Oregon
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Bluestone (Skipwith, Virginia)
College	Longwood (1980–1984)
NBA draft	1984 / Round: 2 / Pick: 46th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1984–2001
Position	Small forward
Number	25, 7, 12
Career history
1984–1995	Portland Trail Blazers
1995–1996	Golden State Warriors
1996–1997	Los Angeles Lakers
1997–1998	Seattle SuperSonics
1999–2000	San Antonio Spurs
2000–2001	Milwaukee Bucks
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1999) First-team Division II All-American (1984) Mason–Dixon Player of the Year (1984) First-team All-Mason–Dixon (1984) No. 54 retired by Longwood Lancers
Career NBA statistics
Points	11,825 (10.3 ppg)
Rebounds	6,339 (5.5 rpg)
Assists	2,134 (1.9 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

The Trail Blazers selected Kersey in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft from Longwood University (then Longwood College) in Farmville, Virginia. He was a member of the Spurs during their 1999 NBA Finals victory over the New York Knicks. Following his playing career, Kersey worked with his former Portland teammate and then-head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Terry Porter as an assistant in 2005. Kersey died from a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot at his home in Tualatin, Oregon, on February 18, 2015.

College career

Kersey attended the then Longwood College, at the time a NCAA Division II school, 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 Division II players.[1] However, it was not until May 2006 that Kersey graduated from Longwood, having only needed two more college courses to graduate for some years.[2]

NBA career

Coming from a school that was not known as a basketball powerhouse, Kersey was selected in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft (46th overall pick) by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was a regular contributor from the bench, eventually becoming a starter, and by his third year, he began to shine, even coming in second behind Michael Jordan in the Slam Dunk Contest.[3]

The 1987–88 season, was his best statistically, as he averaged 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. He became a starter and was part of the nucleus of a strong Portland team, along with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams, and Kevin Duckworth that made it to the NBA Finals two out of the next three years (in 1990 and 1992). However, in subsequent years Clifford Robinson would take his place and Kersey found himself spending more time on the bench.

By 1995, Portland had several talented forwards, and he was left unprotected in that year's expansion draft when he was selected by the Toronto Raptors, but they waived him before the 1995–96 season began.[4] He signed with the Golden State Warriors, where he started 58 games, and had an altercation with Latrell Sprewell, which resulted in the latter threatening to bring a gun to practice.[5] For the 1996–97 season Kersey signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, and he had a quite productive year, logging his most playing time in five seasons, because trades and injuries had left the Lakers thin. The 1997–98 season saw him go to his fourth team in four years, but injuries kept him out of the Seattle SuperSonics' lineup for most of the season.

For the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, Kersey found himself on the San Antonio Spurs. The team won the 1999 NBA championship.[6] Kersey provided frontcourt depth and experience off the bench in the team's title run, although his scoring, rebounding, and minutes played were all career lows. He stayed with the Spurs for another season and then spent one final season in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, who fell short in the Eastern Conference Finals. He retired at the conclusion of the 2000–01 season.

As a Portland Trail Blazer, Kersey was near the top in many of Portland's career categories at the time of his leaving, including games played (second), minutes played (third), scoring (third), rebounding (second), assists (sixth), steals (third), field goals made (fourth), and blocked shots (second).[7]

In 2003, Jerome Kersey addresses a group of kids on the basketball court in the Naval Air Facility at Atsugi, Japan

Following his retirement in 2001, Kersey served as a coach in various capacities for several teams. For a short time, Kersey worked for Wells Fargo home mortgages. During the 2003–04 NBA season, Kersey was hired by the Trail Blazers to serve as director of player programs.[8] After a season in that capacity, Kersey was hired as an assistant coach by the Milwaukee Bucks, where he served under his former Portland teammate, head coach Terry Porter. He served with the Bucks for one year, but was let go (along with Mike Schuler, who coached both Kersey and Porter while in Portland) on May 6, 2005. Porter was subsequently fired as the Bucks' coach later that year. For a period of time following, Kersey joined the automotive industry as an auto wholesaler.[9]

In November 2005, Kersey was in Longwood's first Hall of Fame class. Others included baseball player Michael Tucker and LPGA golfer Tina Barrett.[10]

In 2008, Kersey was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and was selected to receive the 2015 recipient of the William Henry Ruffner Alumni Award, the highest award given to a Longwood alumni.[11] The court at Willett Hall, Longwood's basketball facility, was posthumously named in his honor on December 3, 2016.[12]

Personal life

Kersey married his girlfriend of over nine years, Teri (Teresa Folsom) Donnerberg, on September 21, 2013 at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon. Together, they have four children from previous relationships. [13][14]

Death

Memorial to Kersey in front of the Moda Center in 2015

On February 18, 2015, Kersey died suddenly at the age of 52.[15][16] Lake Oswego Fire Department responded to a call from Kersey's home shortly after 5 pm, and he was taken to Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Tualatin, Oregon where he died. Just days prior to his death, Kersey underwent knee surgery. On the day of his death, he left the Trail Blazers' Rose Quarter office because he was not feeling well.[17] Medical examiners linked his death to a blood clot that traveled to his lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism.[18]

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1984–85	Portland	77	0	12.4	.478	.000	.646	2.7	.8	.6	.4	6.1
1985–86	Portland	79	2	15.4	.549	.000	.681	3.7	1.1	1.1	.4	8.5
1986–87	Portland	82	8	25.5	.509	.043	.720	6.0	2.4	1.5	.9	12.3
1987–88	Portland	79	75	36.6	.499	.200	.735	8.3	3.1	1.6	.8	19.2
1988–89	Portland	76	76	35.7	.469	.286	.694	8.3	3.2	1.8	1.1	17.5
1989–90	Portland	82	82	34.7	.478	.150	.690	8.4	2.3	1.5	.8	16.0
1990–91	Portland	73	72	32.3	.478	.308	.709	6.6	3.1	1.4	1.0	14.8
1991–92	Portland	77	76	33.2	.467	.125	.664	8.2	3.2	1.5	.9	12.6
1992–93	Portland	65	50	26.4	.438	.286	.634	6.2	1.9	1.2	.6	10.6
1993–94	Portland	78	6	16.4	.433	.125	.748	4.2	1.0	.9	.6	6.5
1994–95	Portland	63	0	18.1	.415	.259	.766	4.1	1.3	.8	.6	8.1
1995–96	Golden State	76	58	21.3	.410	.176	.660	4.8	1.5	1.2	.6	6.7
1996–97	L. A. Lakers	70	44	25.2	.432	.262	.602	5.2	1.3	1.7	.7	6.8
1997–98	Seattle	37	2	19.4	.416	.100	.600	3.6	1.2	1.4	.4	6.3
1998–99†	San Antonio	45	0	15.5	.340	.214	.429	2.9	.9	.8	.3	3.2
1999–00	San Antonio	72	18	18.2	.412	.000	.707	3.1	1.0	.9	.7	4.5
2000–01	Milwaukee	22	2	11.0	.464	.000	.500	2.0	.7	.6	.4	3.3
Career		1,153	571	24.4	.465	.201	.690	5.5	1.9	1.2	.7	10.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985	Portland	8	0	7.5	.516	–	.750	1.1	.8	.9	.3	4.8
1986	Portland	4	0	14.0	.409	.000	1.000	3.8	1.0	.3	1.0	5.5
1987	Portland	4	0	15.0	.400	–	1.000	4.8	.8	1.3	.3	6.0
1988	Portland	4	4	31.8	.492	.000	.714	7.5	2.3	1.8	1.0	19.8
1989	Portland	3	3	39.0	.489	.000	.789	8.0	2.3	3.3	.3	20.3
1990	Portland	21	21	39.6	.460	.000	.715	8.3	2.1	1.6	1.0	20.7
1991	Portland	16	16	36.8	.465	–	.752	6.9	3.1	1.8	.4	17.9
1992	Portland	21	21	36.0	.510	.000	.693	7.7	3.6	2.0	.9	16.2
1993	Portland	4	1	24.5	.524	1.000	.706	8.5	1.0	1.0	.5	14.3
1994	Portland	3	0	12.7	.313	–	.200	3.0	.0	.3	.3	3.7
1995	Portland	3	0	21.0	.571	.000	.667	2.7	1.0	1.0	.3	12.7
1997	L. A. Lakers	9	0	23.3	.486	.000	.789	5.3	1.6	1.0	.7	5.4
1998	Seattle	10	5	21.3	.431	.000	.842	4.0	.9	1.0	1.0	7.8
1999†	San Antonio	14	0	10.9	.349	.250	.714	2.1	.3	.4	.1	2.6
2000	San Antonio	2	1	12.5	.143	–		2.0	.5	1.0	.5	1.0
Career		126	72	26.9	.469	.095	.727	5.7	1.8	1.3	.6	12.4

References

1. "Longwood University Lancers". longwoodlancers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Si.com". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
4. "Eugene Register-Guard – Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
5. http://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Sprewell_Latrell.html
6. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/sports/basketball/jerome-kersey-stalwart-of-top-trail-blazers-teams-dies-at-52.html
7. "Jerome Kersey, Former Trail Blazers Player". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
8. "Oregon live-Remembering Jerome Kersey". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
9. "MercyKersey.com". Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
10. "WTVR". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
11. "Former Longwood Great Jerome Kersey Passes Away at 52" (Press release). Longwood University. February 19, 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
12. "Dukes Outlast Lancers in 1st Game on Kersey Court" (Press release). Longwood Lancers. December 3, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
13. "Columbian". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
14. "TMZ". Retrieved February 20, 2015.
15. "Former Blazer Jerome Kersey dies at 52". NBA.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
16. "Jerome Kersey, Portland Trail Blazers great, dead at 52". OregonLive.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
17. "Trail Blazers great Jerome Kersey dies at 52". KGW News. February 18, 2015. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
18. "Blazers grieve for Jerome Kersey; death linked to blood clot". Yahoo Sports. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

External links

• NBA biography of Kersey (archived from 2000)
• Article in Portland Tribune (Tuesday, August 23, 2005)