I love, LOVE this kinda stuff!! https://secure.nba.com/blazers/gallery/photos-hassan-whiteside-blazers-boys-and-girls-club
Nice look. I really liked the picture of him on the couch playing video games with the kid. It gives that look that puts him in a real personal level. We are all the same on the inside. Kids need this.
The Blazers as well as the Timbers and Thorns have done a good job of being involved in the community. It's nice to see.
Agreed. In my controversial "Hood" thread, I had made comments to the effect that I believed more and more hangouts/clubs such as B&GC go a long way towards providing underprivileged youth with various (social, educational, technical, etc.) tools to help them become increasingly successful in life moving forth. These are very good things.
Two of my kids played hoops at the Boys and Girls club. One at Sellwood and the other at Lents. my grandson played at the Eastside Community center. I grew up right behind Montavilla park and I lived at the community center there and that was back when they had park directors that were involved with kids participating in activities. The guy in charge at Montavilla was named Larry Krohn and was a legend around the Portland area for his work with youth programs. He even put me on the park softball team when I was 7 and the other boys were at least 3-4 years older.
He was fantastic. He actually lived down the street from my grandmother as well on 75th between Burnside and Glisan. Later on after college I got hooked up on a softball team with some friends from Madison and his son Kelly played on the team and my wife went to school with a guy that married his daughter and my son actually went to high school and dated his granddaughter who also played basketball and soccer with my daughter. Many connections, lol.
I think there is a scholarship named after him now and they might have named the Montavilla gym after him? I didn't know him but the name is well known for sure around there.
Yep, it's a scholarship at University of Portland. Montavilla Park was essentially my second home as I would literally wake up, eat breakfast and then head out to the park for the day during summer. Of course that was back in the days when a kid didn't have to fear the crap we have now days.
In my mid teens through early 20's I played in some of their night basketball leagues. We would play there about 3 times a week. Also, right after the blazers won their championship on a July day, I was playing a fast pitch game there, and Mo Lucas was watching the game and I was abler to talk with him some, he was there playing tennis. Super nice guy!
