Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds

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"Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds" was written by local author and longtime sportswriter Kerry Eggers, a familiar name to sports fans in the Portland metro area for decades. Built on interviews with more than 80 individuals who knew him, this book describes the life of beloved former Portland Trail Blazer Jerome Kersey from his humble beginnings in rural Virginia to NBA stardom. It is an inspirational account of what can happen when you work hard and believe in yourself and when others along the way believe in you, too. A great read for adults, but also for teens, especially people of color, people who may not have mad the team first time around and any aspiring athletes looking for a relatable role model, because Jerome Kersey was all of those. He was not only a key player on the team but served as a player relations ambassador at the time of his death at 52. A scholarship has been established in his name at Longwood University in Farmville, VA and a portion of the proceeds of this book will go to support its mission. I was not around when Jerome was part of the team so this book filled me in on the particulars of what made him so popular with basketball fans. Jerome was talented, he was funny, he was generous, he was genuine and most of all he was human. So many people shared their memories and experiences that I would otherwise never have known about, and Kerry Eggers was able to weave them all together so I felt like I was there in present time watching it all unfold