Before he could get to his love for the city of Portland, the importance of the Blazers' community outreach program, or even the hors d'oeuvres sitting in front of him, Antonio Harvey was first asked to address the really important stuff:
“Fifty-five,”
the 6-foot-11 NBA journeyman-turned-radio broadcaster said without hesitation, eventually elaborating on the answer but still making time later for the hors d'oeuvres.
“Yep, I have (the Trail Blazers) winning 55 games this year and I know it seems like a lot, but this team went through a ton last season (with injuries) and was still successful,”
Harvey said of his prediction, which would mark a five-win improvement over the 2009-10 team.
“I'll tell you what, though,”
he continued, “I can't wait to watch them.”
Harvey, now 40 years old, played eight seasons in the NBA, two of which were spent with the Blazers.
The road was hardly ever smooth for the big man, who was bounced around to six different teams in that time and waived by three of them — including twice by the Seattle Supersonics. In Portland, though, he has found a home and a community that has embraced him as much as he has it.
Harvey, who averaged 2.3 points a night in 31 career games for the Blazers, has shown his true value post-retirement. Along with handling the color-commentating duties for the team's radio broadcasts — he replaced Mike Rice in the role five years ago when Rice was moved to television — Harvey has led two businesses since his playing days, the All-Star Sports Academy and the L.I.Q.U.I.D. Sports Foundation, both aimed at engaging youth athletes in basketball and mentoring them on life skills.
He spent Tuesday night with other Blazers employees at Seven Feathers at a dinner as part of the organization's community outreach program. On Wednesday afternoon, the group visited Roseburg's Boys & Girls Clubs of the Umpqua Valley for the two-hour Blazers Cow Creek Hoops Camp.
The camp, which is sponsored by the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, drew over 100 kids and was one of six stops on the team's summer tour.
“This is all about showing appreciation for the community and letting all the fans know how important they are,”
Harvey said, while noting the importance of being able to partner with Cow Creek.
“We also want to help the kids just fall in love with basketball, and make sure they know how important it is to be out there and to be active.”
Harvey says it was just “luck of the draw”
landing a position with the Blazers after his playing career ended in 2003, but that he had already decided Portland was where he would call home.
“I've been really blessed to be in this position and to be able to stay around the game, doing whatever I can,”
he said. “The community has always felt right to me, and it's been a perfect fit.”
Harvey was joined at the camp by former University of Oregon basketball walk-on Adrian Stelly, now the organization's basketball outreach coordinator. Dressed in his Blazers gear, the ex-Ducks guard took center stage in leading the excitable campers in various drills and contests.
“I think the Blazers play good, so I really wanted to come,”
said nine-year-old Kobe Payne in explaining his giddiness for being on the hardwood. “But they look taller on TV.”
Sponsorship for the program's stop in Roseburg has one year remaining on a three-year agreement.
“The kids come in and see ‘Blazers' on these guys' shirts and their eyes light up,”
said Dean Jones, the sports director at the Boys and Girls Club. “This whole thing is just great for the kids, and (the Blazers) come in and really do a heck of a job getting them excited about it.”
