Jerome Kersey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jerome Kersey (born June 26, 1962 in Clarksville, Virginia) was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for a number of teams, but most notably for the Portland Trail Blazers. He also has served in various coaching roles in the NBA.

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. However, it was not until May 2006 that Kersey graduated from Longwood, having only needed two classes to graduate. [1]

Coming from a school not known as a basketball powerhouse, Kersey was not selected until late in the second round of the 1984 NBA Draft (46th overall pick) by Portland. He was a regular contributor from the bench, and by his third year, he began to shine, even coming in second behind Michael Jordan in the NBA Slam-Dunk Competition.

The following season, 1987–88, 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 and Terry Porter, that made it to the NBA Finals two out of the next three years (1990 and 1992). However, in subsequent years Clifford Robinson would take his place and Kersey found himself spending more time on the bench. Despite the demotion, Portlanders continued to revere Kersey for his effort and energy whenever he was on the court.

By 1995 Portland had a glut of forwards and he was left unprotected in that year's expansion draft, where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors, but they sent him to the Golden State Warriors, where he started 58 games. At the end of that year, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent and had a very productive year, logging his most playing time in five seasons, due to trades and injuries to the rest of the team. The following season (1997–98) 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.

The nomadic trend continued and for the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, he found himself on the San Antonio Spurs, providing 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 year, and spent one final year in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, retiring at the end of the 2000–01 season.

As a 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 (third), scoring (third), rebounding (second), assists (sixth), steals (third), field goals made (fourth), and blocked shots (second).

After his retirement in 2001; Kersey has served as a coach in various capacities for several teams. During the 2003-2004 season, Kersey was hired by the Trail Blazers to serve as Director of Player Programs for the team; an assignment that many critics of the team dismissed as a public relations ploy (Kersey's job was essentially to try and keep the "Jail Blazers" out of trouble). 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. Kersey has since indicated that he may not return to the NBA, claiming that NBA players of the current era don't respond well to constructive criticism and must be "babied".

In November 2005, Kersey was among the first selection of Longwood's Hall of Fame class, including baseball outfielder Michael Tucker and LPGA golf player Tina Barrett.

He currently is president of a sports management company in Portland, after coaching in Italy.