Benefit channels Maurice Lucas’ spirit

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 6, 2015

There was style along with plenty of substance at the fifth annual Maurice Lucas Foundation celebration Saturday night at Pure Space.

More than 500 celebrities, high-rollers and well-dressed folks gathered at the Pearl District venue for a dinner/auction honoring the memory of Lucas and benefiting his foundation.

Lucas, who died of cancer at age 58 in 2010, is the former Trail Blazer great whose retired “No. 20” hangs in the rafters at the Moda Center. His son, David, started the foundation shortly after his father’s death and has devoted much of his life to it since then.

A year ago, the fundraiser reaped more than $300,000. Figures weren’t yet available on Sunday, but indications were of a record haul.

“We’re hoping to break $400,000,” said Lucas, 33, before the event.

There were 14 big-budget items in the live auction, ranging from a trip to New York to see the Blazers play the Brooklyn Nets to an instant cellar of 28 high-priced wines to vacation packages to the Oregon Coast, Arizona and Italy. Winning bids went from $1,500 to $8,000. Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts got a week at a Broken Top villa in Central Oregon for $4,500.

A special item — a framed collection of autographed jerseys from the five starters of the Portland teams of the early ’90s (Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey, Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth) — went for $7,750 to Kersey’s widow, Teri.

Among the items in a silent auction were framed autographed jerseys of Drexler, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Damian Lillard.

The thrust of the foundation is to provide support for at-risk Portland-area middle-schoolers. The Maurice Lucas Academy offers help to teachers, mentors, tutors and coaches who have worked with hundreds of students in the five years of its existence. The foundation hosts after-school programs, summer camps and educational retreats aimed at teaching life lessons and providing skill-building opportunities.

Results have been more than encouraging. Fifty percent of students involved with the academy received a 4.0 grade-point average last term. Eighty-eight percent of them made the honor roll, and there were zero school suspensions.

During a break in the live auction, Patricia Patterson, a freshman at Jefferson High, offered a moving speech about her life. In grade school, she was constantly in trouble and dealing with plenty of parent and family issues, she said. Since joining the academy, Patterson’s life has turned around, and “I will go to college,” she vowed, earning a standing ovation from those in attendance.

The stars came out in support of the cause, including Bill Walton, the center who teamed with Lucas to lead the Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship.

Downtown Freddie Brown — who played all of his 13 NBA seasons in Seattle and was a key member of the 1978 NBA champion SuperSonics — made the trip from Seattle. Brown, a Milwaukee native, became friends with Lucas when he was attending Marquette and Brown was a young member of the Sonics.

“I wouldn’t miss this,” said Brown, 67. “Our wives have been great friends over the years. Whatever Pam (Lucas) needs, we’re there for.”

Porter, a teammate with Lucas in Portland in 1987-88, was attending his second Lucas Foundation benefit.

“Maurice and I became good friends after he retired and became a coach,” said Porter, 52, now working as an ambassador with the Blazers. “We talked about the league and the game. I got a chance to get a lot of wisdom from him.”

Lloyd Neal, a Portland teammate of Lucas on the championship team, has attended each of the foundation fundraisers.

“They have a great turnout every year and have raised a significant amount of money,” said Neal, 64, whose No. 36 also is retired by the Blazers. “I’m pleased to be here to support them.”

Former NBA power forward Frank Brickowski became friends with Lucas during their playing days.

“As he fought the disease the last two years, we got much closer,” said Brickowski, 56, a Lake Oswego resident in his 15th year as a regional director for the NBA Players Association.

Brickowski has watched as David Lucas has furthered his father’s causes since his death.

“David is his father’s son,” said Brickowski, 56. “He has taken the bull by the horns and has worked really hard at it. It’s not easy stuff, to have a successful foundation. A lot of guys do it to feed their family members and put them on salary. That’s not what David does. It’s all about the foundation. I’m really proud of him.”

Former Blazer Brian Grant became acquainted with Lucas after Grant retired and made Portland his full-time home.

“I knew him well enough for him to call me up, and we’d talk about his sickness and about mine,” said Grant, who has dealt with Parkinson’s disease in recent years. “I always had a lot of respect for him as an athlete, but as a person, even more.”

Grant runs his own foundation, so he understands the business.

“This foundation has a great name,” said Grant, 43. “It came from his father, and sometimes that’s not easy to maintain. But David is doing a great job. He’s a mature young man.”

Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle has developed a relationship with the ex-Beaver great since taking his current position.

“David has brought his groups down to show them our facility and watch us practice,” said Tinkle, who attended with his wife, Lisa. “We’re glad to help support and be a part of it all. His father is a legend and did so many great things, and now David is carrying on the tradition. It’s been nice to help him out with such a great cause.”

Stotts had not attended a Lucas Foundation benefit before, but said he was glad to be on hand to show support.

“Maurice epitomized NBA basketball,” said the Blazers’ fourth-year coach. “I didn’t know him well. I knew his reputation in the community and what he meant to the Trail Blazers. His legacy speaks for itself. I have such respect for that championship team, and he was such a pillar of that team and that community. It’s important that his legacy lives on.”

Walton, of course, feels the same way. Wearing a red retro “Maurice Lucas 20” Trail Blazer jersey, the Naismith Hall of Famer took the microphone late in the program to introduce the event’s annual Enforcer Award winner, broadcasting legend Bill Schonely.

In his stream-of-consciousness style, Walton, 62, called Lucas “the greatest teammate I ever had, the one who made me the best player I ever was. Nothing makes me feel more like a champion than wearing a Maurice Lucas jersey.”

Walton noted that former NBA great Moses Malone, who died recently, was a Blazer “for a month.”

“Moses and I were both stutterers,” Walton said. “Neither of us could say a word when we came here. Learning to speak was the greatest accomplishment in my life, but your worst nightmare.”

Twenty minutes later, I left as Walton continued on with his remarks. In the back of the room, David Lucas smiled.

“It’s always amazing when these guys come to support something my father believed in, with my mom here,” he said. “It’s been a great night.”

kerryeggers@portlandtribune.com

Twitter: @kerryeggers