Just another reason to like Dame.

[Natebishop3]

http://tdn.com/sports/lillard-in-lo...cle_46c3fd70-bd44-11e3-a1cd-0019bb2963f4.html

A flash of recognition and the shouting started, the points and stares, hoop dreamers climbing over each other to get a better look.

Damian Lillard just smiled.

“I was a kid at the YMCA once,” Lillard said. “I know how much I would’ve loved to have had a professional athlete come by and be present. Just be there. It didn’t have to be a donation, it didn’t have to be anything.

“Just their presence would have meant a lot to me.”

Lillard did more than that: The All-Star point guard helping to earn $17,400 for the Longview YMCA at the Dick Hannah Toyota “Threes 4 Threes” event Saturday at the Natt, a donation that will be used, in part, for scholarships, to summer camps and swimming lessons.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

As if I needed another reason!

 

[blue32]

I give him hell sometimes for his D, but I still luv him. nice article!

 

[riverman]

Great thread. People forget that this kids roots run deep in the community. He identifies with the underdog and it keeps him humble. We have a legend in the making.

 

[Natebishop3]

He hit 11 of his first 15 threes — shots flicking off the front of the rim — but caught fire in the second frame, draining all but one shot to the delight of the near-capacity crowd spilling into the Natt’s upper reaches.

Lillard made 29 of the 36 3-pointers he took.

That's pretty impressive, but this part also stood out to me.

Lillard ceded the spotlight to Ashley Coons for the finale, the Mark Morris junior tasked with a one-off free throw that could double the donation total that stood at $8,700 after the 29 triples.

Coons stepped up and sank it, no hesitation, earning a nod of respect from Lillard — “she wanted more (crowd) noise,” Lillard said, “that’s a big step” — and another digit onto the ceremonial, oversized check the Dick Hannah Toyota representatives made out to the YMCA.

That's a TON of pressure. One FTA to double the money? I probably couldn't make it.

 

[Strenuus]

I actually have hope he won't run to the big market when his deal is up.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Mike Conley would have given $17,500 to the YMCA.

 

[Natebishop3]

Mike Conley would have given $17,500 to the YMCA.

Mike Conley like's round numbers so he would have given 18k.

 

[Strenuus]

Mike Conley like's round numbers so he would have given 18k.

Mike Conley would have given the player a 2nd chance to make it, and then tripled it.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Love dame, but dick Hannah is the sleaziest car dealership ever. Hate them