Maurice Lucas RIP

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I'm going to put together a nice video tribute of him for the end of our broadcast tomorrow night.
 
molucas.jpg
 
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 said:
I'm going to put together a nice video tribute of him for the end of our broadcast tomorrow night.
Click to expand...

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.
 
My mom noticed there was a taxi across the street today at his home. We didn't hear anything about it here though until just now on the local news. I'm kinda shocked considering it had been all good news so far. Come to think of it though, we did see an ambulance on the street late Friday or Saturday night, but since there's also an elderly care home next door, we didn't think too much of it, especially since we didn't really notice where it went, nor were its lights flashing.

R.I.P. neighbor. It was way before your time.
 
Trying to be possitive here

Cancer is the devil, and from experience, it hurts. The great news is that he is out of pain. Both he and his family went through hell while he was sick due to him being and them seeing him in so much pain.

And on a lighter note, I can't wait to hear Walton chime in on this. Walton loved him so much that he name his kid after him. It should be epicly poetic.
 
Maurice was always a class act when I used to come across him at the RG. Blazer fans loved him for a reason, a great guy, stuck up for his teammates and didn't take shit from nobody.

The ideal power forward. I'm gonna miss Luke.
 
Never really got a chance to watch him play, but I told my dad who's a casual Blazer fan. He was kinda shocked, he said, Lucas was the straw that stirred the drink on that team.
 
MickZagger said:
Maurice was always a class act when I used to come across him at the RG. Blazer fans loved him for a reason, a great guy, stuck up for his teammates and didn't take shit from nobody.

The ideal power forward. I'm gonna miss Luke.
Click to expand...

I just think it's too bad that he never got a chance to work with Oden.
 
RIP Lucas.

Very sad. I thought he was doing better. As some have said at least he is out of pain now.
 
When I first saw the title of this thread the first thing I thought to say was "man, fuck that!". The last we heard about Mo was he was doing a lot better. He'll be missed. This seriously bums me out.
 
During his playing days he knocked me down in a record by accident when I turned into him. He reached down and helped me up. He was as nice as a person could be.

He shall be missed.
 
I too thought he was getting better. This thread took me completely by surprise, and the news is devastating.

Do it up really good, HCP.
 
It bothers me that MIXUM started this thread.

www.trailblazers.com

M.Lucas was an amazing man, on and off the court. Trail Blazer fans will never forget Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuke.

TRAIL BLAZERS LEGEND MAURICE LUCAS PASSES AWAY

​
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Trail Blazers legendary forward Maurice Lucas passed away today at the age of 58 after a long battle with cancer.

Lucas was a central figure on the Trail Blazers 1976-77 NBA Championship team and averaged 15.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.72 blocked shots over five seasons (1976-80, 87-88) in Portland.

During Portland's 1976-77 NBA Championship season, Lucas led the team in scoring (20.2), field goals made (8.0), free throws made (4.2), offensive rebounds (2.4) and minutes (36.2). In the 1977 Playoffs, Lucas led the team in scoring in eight of the 19 games and in rebounding twice.

“Portland and the NBA lost one of their greats today,” said owner Paul Allen. “Maurice Lucas was an amazing man and I count myself lucky to have known him. We all - players, coaches, the owner and the fans - were made better by having Maurice a part of our team, whether playing on the championship team or, most recently as an assistant coach.

“He was one of the greatest Blazers ever. I'll miss him. I and the entire Blazer family send our condolences to his wife, Pamela, and their children,” added Allen.

A standout at Marquette University, Lucas led the school to the NCAA National Championship game in 1974. Portland acquired Lucas as the second pick in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft. He played 12 seasons in the NBA and four in the American Basketball Association.

“Words cannot express the magnitude of loss we feel tonight with the passing of Maurice Lucas,” said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. “The Trail Blazers family has lost our Enforcer, but for me personally, I have lost a brother.

“Maurice has left unforgettable fingerprints on every decade of Trail Blazers basketball, yet it is his booming personality, his warrior-like loyalty, and most of all, his undying love for his family, for the Trail Blazers, for his teammates, and for the city of Portland that we will all hold dearly in our hearts. On behalf of myself and the entire Trail Blazers organization, our deepest sympathy goes out to his wife Pam, sons Maurice Jr. and David, daughter Kristin and grandson Luke,” added Miller.

Selected to the All-Star Game in three straight seasons from 1977-79, Lucas is one of four three-time All-Stars in Trail Blazers history (Clyde Drexler, Brandon Roy, Sidney Wicks).

“We have lost a champion of a man,” said Trail Blazers Head Coach Nate McMillan. “Maurice was a great man and a great friend. He battled his illness like the warrior he was on the basketball court.

“We were so fortunate to have his influence on the young men on this team. He was my mentor, my big brother, and I always knew he had my back. He has left us far too soon,” added McMillan.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was named to the All-NBA Second Team and All-Defensive First Team in 1977-78. He was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 1978-79.

Lucas most recently served as an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers for five seasons from 2005-10, and previously in 1988-89.

The Trail Blazers honored Lucas by retiring his uniform number (No. 20) on Nov. 4, 1988.

Service arrangements are to be determined.
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I say a small article in the Sports Section of the SF Chronicle while on the BART train to work today. I am not totally shocked; when it is announced that cancer surgery is unsuccessful that usually means pretty bad news.

Several years ago, I needed a lawyer (civil suit, I did not do anything wrong, the other party did) and discovered over time that by coincidence my lawyer, who lives in SF, is the daughter of the rabbi who performed Luke's wedding ceremony. We both laughed about small world.

RIP, LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE.
 
HCP said:
I'm going to put together a nice video tribute of him for the end of our broadcast tomorrow night.
Click to expand...

Please make sure that is available on the Blazers web site or YouTube afterwards. I would like to save it.
 
Man, Luke was way too young to go. This is very sad, indeed. I'll never forget his confrontation with Darryl Dawkins in the '77 championship series. One could make the case that Lucas turned that series around and brought Portland a championship.

Bill Walton must be crying today. He and Lucas were the best of friends. I will never forget Maurice Lucas and what he did for the city of Portland and for our beloved Trail Blazers.

RIP Luke.
 
You gotta love how the two of them squared off like that. Looked very similar to a lot of NBA fights until that point, but Dawkins didn't like he really wanted any piece of Luke.
 
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