Chris Dudley

Dale Schlueter

Jerome Kersey

This is the Trail Blazers ambassador blog. The ambassadors will contribute blogs periodically on topics relevant to the current Trail Blazers team.

Stretch Run Brings Back Fond Memories
By Chris Dudley

It is that time of year again, when the kids get out of school and those of us from the great Northwest go to seek out the sun. Thus I am in Phoenix this week with my wife and three children visiting grandparents and enjoying the warm weather.

The news down here is of the Suns desperate attempt to overtake either Dallas or our Blazers, in order to make the playoffs. We are in the homestretch of the NBA season and this time of year brings back fond memories for me. This was always my favorite time of year in the NBA season. This is the part of the year that I felt was the reward for all the previous hard work. From 20 games left and in – it was all good.

As a player, you had paid the dues. You worked out all summer, endured the two-a-days of training camp, played the inconsequential exhibition games, endured a sometimes brutal travel schedule and played 60+ regular season games, and now you could see the finish line and the reward that would go with it – the playoffs.

At this point in the season, every game can affect your playoff position. Not only does every game matter, but you want to start peaking as a team for the playoffs. You want to play your best basketball as you head into the end of the season. Usually in the last part of the season your long road trips are done and the team mostly plays in your conference. Thus the importance of the games is magnified for playoff position, as well as teams trying to send a message to a potential playoff opponent.

It is a long season for an NBA player, lots of practices, games and travel, not to mention the aches and pains you have accumulated along the way. But with the homestretch in front of you, everything feels different. With the playoffs in sight, you begin to rise above the fatigue and any injury. The team bond becomes stronger and stronger as you all have the same goal. You become keenly focused, driven and locked in on your shot at becoming World Champions. You see the reward of the playoffs in front of you. I always loved the NBA playoffs. I loved playing in games that mattered – and playoff games matter the most.

Coaches would back way off during the closing stretch of the season. I was always an advocate for “less is more” at this point of the year. This point was driven home for me early in my career when I played for New Jersey. Bill Fitch was the coach, and he had the reputation of being a task master. That year, however, there was a lot of external turmoil surrounding his job security. He was in trouble, and it hit a boiling point when the NY newspapers found out the late Jimmy Valvano was having lunch with one of our owners (the owners were known as the Secaucus Seven at the time). This, of course, magnified the expectation that Coach was gone. With all this turmoil going on, we basically stopped practicing. I am not sure that we had a full length practice during the last quarter of the year.

So what happened with the team? We went on a tear! We came out of nowhere to make the playoffs. The reason: we brought more energy than our opponents. We were fresh and it showed. At that point of the year it was more important that we have fresh legs than anything else. Rick Carlisle was a young assistant on that team and I would later have him in Portland under PJ Carlesimo. I, of course, would always remind him of this experience, and it may have paid off in the 1995-96 Blazer season. That was a year in which we were in danger of not making the playoffs and PJ had started to get some heat. But like in New Jersey, we backed way off on practices and the team got its energy back.

We went on to win 18 out of our last 22 games to make the playoffs. Again we were fresher than everyone else and just went out and outworked other teams. We ended up losing to the Utah Jazz in tough series where each team won every game on its home court. But we had ended up playing our best basketball at the end of the year, and had almost upset a very good Utah team. Fortunately for players, most coaches now do realize the value of rest and do back off from practice at this point. Physically you also get a break because you travel less at the end of the season, the trips are shorter. This is a good time to get your treatments, massage and anything else you can do to get your body right in order to have a great finish.

I am anxious to watch this young Blazer team during this stretch. I am hoping that they will peak as they play this stretch run and go into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders. I know that they will enjoy the experience, enjoy the fact that each game is so important, and enjoy the energy of the fans in each game. They will definitely enjoy their first experience of the playoffs as a team. It is an invaluable experience that will serve them well in the years to come. This is the time of year that is most difficult for me as far as missing the game, as I which I could be out there with them, but I will happily enjoy their efforts as a fan along with everyone else.

Big Man today vs. Big Man of the 70s and 80s
By Dale Schlueter

Having played in the NBA for 10 years, 1968 to 1978, I have a different perspective on the Big Man in the middle today. I had the privilege of playing with and against some of the greatest centers that ever played in the NBA. Players like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin and Lew Alcindor (or as many of the younger folks may recognize him, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

Some other names might not be as recognizable: Wes Unseld, a 6’7” center that could rebound and start a fast break with a pass to half court, and Nate Thurmond. I was Nate’s backup for three seasons in San Francisco (now Golden State) and learned to admire him for his consistent games and as one of the best human beings I have ever met. Unfortunately for him, he was always underrated and overshadowed by Wilt Chamberlin and Bill Russell, two of the legends in the league.

Obviously the style of play has changed dramatically. One significant difference is that today’s players don’t play well with their back to the basket, something that was ingrained in us during the 70’s. They also don’t have the passing skills that you used to see, especially when and if the offense splits the post. I think the earlier players also ran fundamental plays better, i.e. the pick-and-roll, give-and-go. Many players today have not learned or been taught the basic fundamentals of the game.

Another thing that’s changed dramatically is today’s offense. Offenses of the ‘70s and ‘80s were RUN, RUN, and RUN some more. Today, they walk the ball up the court, let the guard go one-on-one, or pound the ball inside to the big man and everyone stands around and watches. We ran the ball up court; our fast break started with a rebound and an outlet pass almost to half court- that’s where our offense started. There was no three point line and we still averaged over 100 points per game because everyone on the team ran. A few years ago Seattle and Phoenix (before Shaq) were fun to watch because they got up and down the floor and really made the game interesting.

The most notable difference I see today is the size of the players (height and weight). During my years there were not many 7-footers around. Today, you will see teams with several players that are 7-foot and taller. They have the advantage of being able to back someone down under the basket and score, but you will rarely see them running (I mean really running up and down the court), getting involved in the fast break. The centers of the ‘70s and ‘80s were in most instances leaner and more active than those playing today. If you watch Shaq, he’ll jog the floor and everyone stands around waiting for him to get down the court. They changed the backcourt 10-second rule to an eight-second rule to try to get the players moving up and down the court more.

Another point is that the referees and rules have changed as well. Today, the referees let too many traveling and carrying violations go. Even the greatest defensive players could not consistently guard a player coming down the court who is constantly allowed to carry the ball. The travel – hop – and shoot by you-know-who is a disgrace to the NBA.

The physical style of game has changed because of rule changes and everyone wants to be “friends”. During my years in the league, you may have shaken the other player’s hand, but hugging was out. If someone drove to the basket, they might get there once; the second time they would be shooting free throws; and if that did not work, the third time they would find themselves sitting on their keester wondering where they were. It wasn’t with the intention of hurting anyone, but it was about establishing your territory inside. We had a job to do, and that was to win the game.

Yes, times have changed and will continue to change and evolve over time as the game changes and the players change. I will say this, it was a great ride and if I had the chance to do it again, I’d be there in a heartbeat!

The dunk contest, now and then
By Jerome Kersey

The slam dunk contest, what can I say? Everyone that has ever played the game wants to dunk the ball. The event itself is really fun, it’s a time where you can see some creativity and find out how many ways a player can dunk the ball. I do think it’s becoming a little tainted by all the gimmicks- there’s just too many. I participated in four slam dunk contests, 1986, 87, 88 and 89, and never used props. But as long as the fans are having a fun, the players are too.

When I was playing there were eight players invited to be in the dunk contest. You used to have to fight and compete to get into the semi-finals. Now with only four players who compete, you’re automatically in the semi-finals! Another difference I noticed was back then, the best players in the game would compete – Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Julius Erving. These days, a lot of the game’s most dominant players take a pass on participating.

What’s interesting is that I competed against my own teammate, Clyde Drexler, in three of the four competitions I participated in. In the weeks leading up to the event, my teammates would all throw wild suggestions at me, with the exception of Clyde. Let’s just say that Clyde and I didn’t converse about our dunks. I would practice a few dunks after practices, but I knew what I could do. I was a power dunker, not a flair dunker. My disadvantage was always that I couldn’t palm the ball at will. Clyde never practiced his dunks; it just came naturally to him.

My most notable dunk contest was in 1987 in Seattle, where Michael Jordan and I were in the finals. To be honest, I think Terence Stansbury’s statue-of-liberty dunk should have put him in the finals over Michael, but it didn’t. Michael didn’t pull out his good stuff until the finals. In the end, I placed second, but it really was a great experience.



Who knows what the future holds for the event. I was really disappointed when the dunk contest wasn’t a part of all-star weekend in 1998, and again in the lockout-shortened season in 1999. I would like to see it remain a part of the all-star weekend.

Good luck, Rudy! Bring the dunk contest back to its prominent state,

“Mercy, Mercy Jerome Kersey”

Note: Jerome is one of three former Trail Blazers to compete in the dunk contest. Joining Drexler and Kersey from the 1980s was James “Hollywood” Robinson in 1994. Below is the scoring from the 1987 dunk contest in Seattle, where Jerome placed second to Michael Jordan.

Player	First round	Semifinals	Finals
Michael Jordan (Chicago)	88 (41+47)	148 (49+49+50)	146 (48+48+50)
Jerome Kersey (Portland)	92 (48+44)	147 (50+48+49)	140 (46+45+49)
Terence Stansbury (Seattle)	99 (49+50)	144 (49+45+50)
Clyde Drexler (Portland)	92 (45+47)	136 (46+45+45)
Ron Harper (Cleveland)	83 (45+38)
Johnny Dawkins (San Antonio)	81 (37+44)
Tom Chambers (Seattle)	62 (41+21)
Gerald Wilkins (New York)	62 (41+21)

Tune in Saturday, Feb. 14th at 5 pm on TNT to watch Trail Blazer Rudy Fernandez compete in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest