Lord Love a Duck

As I sat down to my computer early Tuesday morning, I was astonished and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of former Portland Trailblazer center Kevin Duckworth. In a time when the sports world is completely commercialized, I call recall a time of my own when the "grass roots" marketing approach of the Blazer franchise of old led to my only encounter with the man affectionately known as "The Duck".

Kevin Duckworth was a second round pick of the San Antonio Spurs who was acquired in a trade by Portland for Walter Berry, a collegiate juggernaut out of St. Johns who never really established himself as an NBA player. When Duckworth was brought to the team there was no city wide gathering in Pioneer Courthouse Square or even a big greeting at the airport. He arrived in the city with very little fanfare at all.

When "The Duck" joined the Blazers there were already two centers in front of him on the depth chart, Sam Bowie, who was out that season with a broken leg and Oregon State's own Steve Johnson, who had taken over the starting center position in Bowie's absence. Despite his current standing, it wouldn't take long for Kevin Duckworth to ascend to becoming an crucial part in the Blazers line-up.

Going into the 1987-88 season, the Blazers had much reason for optimism. However that optimism was thought to be dashed before the season ever started. Bowie was lost for the second season in a row to a broken leg and shortly after the regular season began, center Steve Johnson would succumb to injury. Going forward, the Blazers would be forced to rely on the unproven seven footer from Eastern Illinois. It would not be long before the Blazers realized that wasn't such a bad thing after all.