August 13, 2003
The Trail Blazers hired franchise heritage player Jerome Kersey as Director of Player Programs, a position intended to support the organizations overall goal to fully develop players and provide support to all players on and off the court.
The position was outlined to fans in the
25-point pledge released earlier this month as part of the organizations’ new direction. Kersey will assist current players in developing as solid individuals, as well as providing players, especially young players, with resources and support to face the challenges and opportunities they face as NBA players.
In addition, the Blazers announced the hiring of John Loyer and Bernard Smith as assistant coaches.
“We’re pleased to be adding these three proven individuals to our basketball team,” said Blazers general manager John Nash. “I know that Jerome will work with players on an individual basis to make sure they reach their full potential. He is the perfect individual to guide our young players, helping them understand what it means to live and work in Portland and what is expected of them as a Trail Blazer. We’re also pleased to be adding John and Bernard to our coaching staff; we have now rounded out a solid basketball staff to lead the team this season.”
“I’m excited to return to the franchise when the team is reaching out to reconnect to the city of Portland,” said Kersey. “I loved playing and living in the city so much that I made Portland my home. I feel honored to once again be a part of the franchise that I started at and where I played some of the best years of my career. I also look forward to helping young athletes develop, providing direction and attention to the players as individuals, not just as basketball players.”
Kersey has been living in Portland since he retired from the NBA in 2001, working in the mortgage industry, most recently with Lending Solutions. Kersey played 17 years in the NBA, 11 of them as a Portland Trail Blazer after being selected 46th in the 1984 NBA Draft from Longwood College in Virginia. Kersey holds a number of records with the Blazers, ranking second in Blazers' all-time franchise history in games (831) and rebounds (5,078), third in blocked shots (621) and steals (1,059), fourth in points (10,067) and eighth in assists (1,762). He was a starter on the successful early nineties Blazers team, going to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.
After being selected by Toronto in the 1995 Expansion Draft, Kersey played with Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Supersonics, and was a member of the 1999 NBA Championship Spurs team, then going to the Milwaukee Bucks. Kersey was integral in the relationship between the Blazers and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Portland, later resulting in the Blazers Boys & Girls Club being built. The Blazers Boys & Girls Club was the first club in the nation sponsored by an NBA team.
John Loyer has spent the past three seasons with the Blazers basketball operations staff, spending the last two seasons as an advance scout, prior to being the team’s video coordinator in his first year with the team. A 12-year veteran at the collegiate level, including Wabash Valley College, University of Akron and University of Cincinnati, Loyer participated in one NCAA Final Four and two Elite Eight teams. He has a 234-86 record as a college assistant.
Bernard Smith has been the Blazers video coordinator for the past two seasons, responsible for video analysis, breakdown of NBA opponents and game film editing. In addition, Smith has assisted during the Blazers summer league participation for the past two seasons. Prior to his time with the Blazers, Smith was in the Philadelphia 76ers front office for six seasons prior.
