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Antonio Harvey, a former NBA player and current radio analyst for the Portland Trail Blazers, leads the Nike basketball clinic for kids at the Boys & Girls Club of the Umpqua Valley on Wednesday in Roseburg.
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ENLARGE
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Children warm up during the Trail Blazers’ Nike basketball clinic at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Umpqua Valley Wednesday in Roseburg.
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A tour bus sat idling outside the Boys & Girls Club of the Umpqua Valley in Roseburg Wednesday. The muffled sounds of basketballs hitting hardwood and children laughing, squealing and yelling drifted out through the doorways of the club.
It was the sound of excitement. And why not? The Portland Trail Blazers were in town.
Well, not exactly in the form you would expect. Instead of multi-millionaire athletes, there were multi-tasking executives — not to mention an energetic Blaze — the Blazers’ multi-talented mascot.
Once inside the building you wouldn’t have known the difference. Kids were having fun running up and down the club’s courts, showing off their budding basketball prowess.
Only one person stood out among the crowds of youngsters. He stood a good thigh, torso, head and shoulders above the group of first-graders clumped together at his feet.
His name is Antonio Harvey, a 6-foot-11 retired Blazer, current radio analyst, and present coach of “Make It Better” Summer Tour 2008. It’s the Blazers’ most recent attempt to reconnect with Oregon. The tour is a 2,000-mile road trip to 19 communities throughout Oregon and southwest Washington, offering free basketball clinics for athletes ages 6-13.
Harvey’s booming voice barked out orders, diffused fights, and commanded the rapt attention of everyone in the gymnasium. He joked with campers, spooked the little ones, and swatted futile shot attempts by the grade-schoolers.
He was the biggest kid of them all.
“Oh yeah. We’re having fun,” Harvey said, a big grin plastered to his face. “I don’t think I know how to do something without having fun.”
Harvey retired after the 2002-03 season and has been the team’s color man, teaming with Brian Wheeler for the past three years.
He knows the Blazers like the back of his hand. And true to his roots in the organization, he is a diehard fan. When he talks about the team he gets excited and his smile widens. He is optimistic about the future of the franchise that has struggled over the past four years.
“Right now, I believe this is a playoff-caliber team,” Harvey said. “There have been rough times, some rocky moments. But that happens.
“It’s a cycle. It’s those goods and bads and highs and lows,” he continued. “We’ve had our goods and bads, we’ve seen our lows. Now I see nothing but highs in the future.”
Harvey points to the additions of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge two years ago, Martel Webster the year before that, and the 7-foot gift from heaven, in the form of Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.
And for all you fans anxious about Oden’s return, here are some comforting words.
“He could have been playing right now,” Harvey said. “But the team is being very cautious. We don’t need Greg Oden today; we need him the next 10 years. He will be on the court for the opener, no doubt.”
Now, with this year’s two new additions in Rudy Fernandez of Spain and Jerryd Bayless — who came to the Blazers from Indiana through a draft-night trade — the future looks even brighter.
Harvey believes both the Spaniard and the freshman out of Arizona will contribute right away. He sees Fernandez as a swingman that can fill in at the point guard, off-guard and at small forward.
“He brings that Euro-confidence,” Harvey said. “European players play at a different pace than American players. It’s more about craftiness with European players. Rudy is a very crafty player; very smart, very heady.”
And Bayless?
“Absolutely remarkable,” Harvey said. “He’s a great athlete with a great basketball mind and good IQ. He will fit in very well and very quickly. I foresee him making a run at the starting point guard spot this year.”
Harvey believes owner Paul Allen and general manager Kevin Pritchard have put together a team that has the potential to be one of the best in the NBA in the near future, without compromising the here and now.
“Without a doubt Paul is the best owner in professional sports, bar none,” Harvey said. “And Kevin is one of the best up-and-coming GMs in basketball. He knows how to target what he wants and he knows how to get what he wants.”
Probably the best example of Pritchard’s daring was this year’s draft, when the Blazers traded away all five of their selections for Bayless, highly touted French star Nicolas Batum and draft picks.
It is yet to be seen that trading away Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Omer Asik, Joey Dorsey and Mike Taylor will play in the Blazers favor. But Pritchard’s track record is solid, most notably when he brought Roy and Aldridge over for Randy Foye and Tyrus Thomas, respectively.
It was the sound of excitement. And why not? The Portland Trail Blazers were in town.
Well, not exactly in the form you would expect. Instead of multi-millionaire athletes, there were multi-tasking executives — not to mention an energetic Blaze — the Blazers’ multi-talented mascot.
Once inside the building you wouldn’t have known the difference. Kids were having fun running up and down the club’s courts, showing off their budding basketball prowess.
Only one person stood out among the crowds of youngsters. He stood a good thigh, torso, head and shoulders above the group of first-graders clumped together at his feet.
His name is Antonio Harvey, a 6-foot-11 retired Blazer, current radio analyst, and present coach of “Make It Better” Summer Tour 2008. It’s the Blazers’ most recent attempt to reconnect with Oregon. The tour is a 2,000-mile road trip to 19 communities throughout Oregon and southwest Washington, offering free basketball clinics for athletes ages 6-13.
Harvey’s booming voice barked out orders, diffused fights, and commanded the rapt attention of everyone in the gymnasium. He joked with campers, spooked the little ones, and swatted futile shot attempts by the grade-schoolers.
He was the biggest kid of them all.
“Oh yeah. We’re having fun,” Harvey said, a big grin plastered to his face. “I don’t think I know how to do something without having fun.”
Harvey retired after the 2002-03 season and has been the team’s color man, teaming with Brian Wheeler for the past three years.
He knows the Blazers like the back of his hand. And true to his roots in the organization, he is a diehard fan. When he talks about the team he gets excited and his smile widens. He is optimistic about the future of the franchise that has struggled over the past four years.
“Right now, I believe this is a playoff-caliber team,” Harvey said. “There have been rough times, some rocky moments. But that happens.
“It’s a cycle. It’s those goods and bads and highs and lows,” he continued. “We’ve had our goods and bads, we’ve seen our lows. Now I see nothing but highs in the future.”
Harvey points to the additions of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge two years ago, Martel Webster the year before that, and the 7-foot gift from heaven, in the form of Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.
And for all you fans anxious about Oden’s return, here are some comforting words.
“He could have been playing right now,” Harvey said. “But the team is being very cautious. We don’t need Greg Oden today; we need him the next 10 years. He will be on the court for the opener, no doubt.”
Now, with this year’s two new additions in Rudy Fernandez of Spain and Jerryd Bayless — who came to the Blazers from Indiana through a draft-night trade — the future looks even brighter.
Harvey believes both the Spaniard and the freshman out of Arizona will contribute right away. He sees Fernandez as a swingman that can fill in at the point guard, off-guard and at small forward.
“He brings that Euro-confidence,” Harvey said. “European players play at a different pace than American players. It’s more about craftiness with European players. Rudy is a very crafty player; very smart, very heady.”
And Bayless?
“Absolutely remarkable,” Harvey said. “He’s a great athlete with a great basketball mind and good IQ. He will fit in very well and very quickly. I foresee him making a run at the starting point guard spot this year.”
Harvey believes owner Paul Allen and general manager Kevin Pritchard have put together a team that has the potential to be one of the best in the NBA in the near future, without compromising the here and now.
“Without a doubt Paul is the best owner in professional sports, bar none,” Harvey said. “And Kevin is one of the best up-and-coming GMs in basketball. He knows how to target what he wants and he knows how to get what he wants.”
Probably the best example of Pritchard’s daring was this year’s draft, when the Blazers traded away all five of their selections for Bayless, highly touted French star Nicolas Batum and draft picks.
It is yet to be seen that trading away Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Omer Asik, Joey Dorsey and Mike Taylor will play in the Blazers favor. But Pritchard’s track record is solid, most notably when he brought Roy and Aldridge over for Randy Foye and Tyrus Thomas, respectively.
“It’s great when you see a young guy like Kevin have the success he’s had,” Harvey said.“There is nothing but a bright future for him. And because he has a bright future, obviously the team has a bright future.”
And when Harvey says “bright future,” he means it.
“I already have a championship ring sized for myself,” said Harvey.
To reach that level, this team must first answer one of the biggest question marks facing this version of the Trail Blazers: youth. The team’s starting lineup has an average age of 24 and only four players have five or more years of experience.
But Harvey doesn’t think teams can hide behind the youth card anymore. Not with young athletes coming into the league ready to make an impact.
“(Head coach) Nate McMillan will be the first to admit, youth is not an excuse, not anymore,” Harvey said. “Roy, our team leader, is only in his third season, but he played four years of college so he’s not a young player anymore.
“The same is true with LaMarcus Aldridge, Martel Webster and Travis Outlaw. They’re all young but they’ve played three to five years in the league. This time youth is not an excuse. It’s time for us to step up.”
And when Harvey says “bright future,” he means it.
“I already have a championship ring sized for myself,” said Harvey.
To reach that level, this team must first answer one of the biggest question marks facing this version of the Trail Blazers: youth. The team’s starting lineup has an average age of 24 and only four players have five or more years of experience.
But Harvey doesn’t think teams can hide behind the youth card anymore. Not with young athletes coming into the league ready to make an impact.
“(Head coach) Nate McMillan will be the first to admit, youth is not an excuse, not anymore,” Harvey said. “Roy, our team leader, is only in his third season, but he played four years of college so he’s not a young player anymore.
“The same is true with LaMarcus Aldridge, Martel Webster and Travis Outlaw. They’re all young but they’ve played three to five years in the league. This time youth is not an excuse. It’s time for us to step up.”
