Even though this is a sad day in Blazer land, his death brings any suffering he was going through to an end. Cancer is such a terrible disease and we really have not been able to figure out how to stop it. It is like a modern plague only slower and more devastating worldwide. I really think in the end it will be stem cells that push us over the top in the fight against cancer.
Man, I'd hoped he would beat this thing. He was not only a great basketball player, but a great person. My condolences to his family.
Wow this is a big shock. I hope the Blazer staff pull a tribute to him this coming Thursday against the Thunder. I hope this gets our guys pumped to win this for Lucas.
This is so sad. I once named a Boston Terrior "Luke" after him. My thoughts & prayers are with his family & friends. RIP LUKE
A couple years after winning the title, fall of '79 actually, I played on the Lewis & Clark College men's basketball team. A class that all of us players took was "Coaching Basketball" - which was an afternoon class taught by head coach Dean Sempert. Maurice come as a guest speaker for a class. Great guy. R.I.P. Maurice LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!
HCP. I'm not sure that there is any footage of this event, but upon returning from Philly (1977, after being down 2 games and "the big fight between Bobby Gross and Chocolate Thunder, where Lucas stepped in to defend Gross), as the announcer got ready to introduce the Blazer starting five, and when it came time for Lucas to trot out onto the floor....rather than head out to join his fellow players - instead he ran straight down the sidelines, heading for the Philly bench! He walked right up to Thunder, shook his hand, and then ran back to join the other Blazer starters. [I was in the nose bleed section with my Dad, Mom and brother] It was an absolute shocking ten seconds! We all thought he was going right at Dawkins to start a fight or something? Instead, he psyched him out for the following four games - and the rest is history. Look to see if this was ever captured on film - because if it was....it speaks volumns about Lucas! Thanks!
We've lost a couple greats in basketball this year--Lucas and Wooden earlier. I really was sad for days when Wooden passed. That guy was the highest example of a class act guy, basketball related or not.
We are pretty limited to what we have with us here on the road footage wise, but I'm sure the editors back at the RG are working on something special for Thursday night.
