Kevin Duckworth dead at 44....

[RJ]

R.I.P. Kevin.


Although he played for our rival he was a freaking beast in the middle when the Blazers were on thier Finals runs. I remember vividly, since we were on the wrong end of some of those losses. Dude was waaaay to young to go. Sorry about your loss, Blazerfan.

[Goober McTuber]

Duckworth on the right. A true KFC Paul wannabe.

[Q, West Coast Style]

Duck was a great guy, and for a couple of seasons was probably one of the top 5 centers in the league. He will be remembered fondly by the Blazer fans even though they were brutally hard on him at times, which wasn't always undeserving. The big guy just didn't take care of himself. So his early passing really isn't that much of a surprise as sad as it is. The heart of a 7 footer has to work harder as it is even without being compromised by all the Popey's and Jack in the Box.

[Dinsdale]

I had the honor of calling Kevin a friend.

After he built his house (in the parking lot of my old grade school), he made it a point to seek out and befriend the entire Beaverton grease-monkey contingent (Beaverton is something of an automotive sales/distribution/repair hub). He was a bigtime musclecar guy, my (and his) favorite being a 66 GTO Convertible, which I worked on a couplefew times, although he did most of his work himself (although like any intelligent shadetree mechanic, he left the electrical stuff to us pros... wise man).

I remember running into Kevin several years ago, and asking "still got the GTO, right?"

He replied "If you ever see anyone else driving the GTO Dins, consider yourself invited to my funeral."


Fuck.


I ran into him for the first time in a few years very recently, so naturally, I busted off our standard greeting: "Still got the GTO, right?"


"Ya'know... I sold it. I wasn't driving it very much [the lower convertible roofline made it so he pretty much drove the Goat on sunny days, because his head stood higher than the roof], and a friend of mine really wanted it, and I thought he'd get more enjoyment out of it than I was. I wish now that I'd kept it, but it was a material possession, and one thing I've learned in my life is that material things aren't important -- your friends and loved ones are. So I'm not going to lose any sleep over not having a possession anymore."


At the time, I found that statement to be so... Ducklike. But for some reason, it means a lot more today. Just another example of a person he inspired with his kindness and happy outlook, which was his MO. He touched a lot of people that way.


A dark cloud hangs over Portland today. We lost a member of The Family. He won't be remembered for winning Most Improved Player, for appearing in multiple NBA Finals, or for his multiple All Star appearances, or for going all Willis Reed up in the 90' Western Conf. Championship with the huge wad of tape on his busted hand (sup Radiofan) --

Kevin will be remembered for being one hell of a nice man, who made everyone he ever came in contact with feel special (which local radio is clogged with tales of today). I have a feeling if he never achieved any celebrity, he'd still be a very popular figure in this town, because he was so fucking friendly to every single person he ever came in contact with. He was the same way when I ran into him at Home Depot a few weeks ago. Always a smile for everyone.

He was doing a free youth hoops clinic when he died... always about other people, never about himself. I know it's trendy when a celebrity dies to ignore their shortcomings and exaggerate the good things (sup Kirby Puckett), but that just isn't the case with Kevin -- we now realize we can't overemphasize the good things, and there were no bad things. I think we took for granted how lucky we were to have him in our community.


The Blazers are already soliciting suggestions for how to honor him, and I'm getting my communications in (along with hundreds of thousands of others, I'm sure), and I want to see 00 retired on opening night this season.


RIP City, old friend.

[Dinsdale]

That pic was taken while he was serving food to the homeless-btw... probably at his own expense. And always with a smile. That's Jerome Kersey on the left. My heart goes out to him and his family as well, since he and Kevin were still very close friends. I'm sure he's devastated.

[Derron]

I knew Kevin also... meet him when I worked for the school district in Beaverton and worked at the school right across the street from his house.

The kids would walk by the house and yell.."Quack quack.. the Ducks house" and he would smile and wave at them. He had a bad ass Ford truck and jet sled and we started talking fishing and trucks and shit, and usually talked a least once a week or more for a number of years. He would show up a cruise in's and other car functions with that GTO.

Ran into him on the river a few years back and we yelled across boats at each other. Kevin was a class act..he was a real guy, like the cars, boats and hot rods. Jerome is a class guy too.. met him when I was contracting at Nike and he was always friendly and talked to you.

Sad day in Portland...he was one of a great bunch of basket ball players and an all around good guy who was very active in the community.

Dins was right .. he will be remembered for being more of a citizen and good guy than basketball player.

I heard that interview he gave about a month ago when they were in John Day for one of those kids clinic and it was so Duckworth like. I though, man I need to break dude off an e mail or phone call..should have done that for sure now.

[Smackie Chan]

You U&L'ers paint a picture of a fine gentleman. But the question remains, "What's a dead Duckworth?"

[Dinsdale]

we started talking fishing

I hope you were on the clock -- once Kevin got to talking fishing, all bets were off.


Kevin Pritchard is already lecturing the young Blazers about the legacy of Kevin, and has explained that his standing in this town has little to do with what he did on the court. Blazer fans would rather admire and befriend a loser (which the multiple All Star certainly wasn't), than root for Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells.

Kevin was something of a quintessential Blazer. Loved for who he was, not what he did for a living.

But if he had to go -- the man possibly boasted more friends in the Portland area than... than... than even Dins. Very easy person to get to know, and he had so many interests, he had something in common with everyone.