Blazer's Edge: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:





Brian Hendrickson Honors Terry Porter


Tp-3update_medium

In my continuing quest to recognize the brilliance of Terry Porter, I asked Brian Hendrickson of the Vancouver Columbian for his thoughts on the greatest point guard in Blazers history.  Here's what Mr. Hendrickson had to say.

"When I think of Terry, I think of a warrior, a winner, and a first-class person. He is the ultimate professional. Here's a guy who went to a small NAIA school and rose up to become the Blazers' all-time assists leader.

A guy who was  never traded during his NBA career — which says everything about how valuable his teams considered him — and won pretty much everywhere he went, from the two Finals appearances with Portland to leading Minnesota to its first playoff berth and winning season, to competing for championships in San Antonio.

Unfortunately, he's the kind of guy whose numbers will always be used against him to say he's a step short of Hall of Fame quality, but whose teammates will probably say he was one of the most important components in their success.

I'm not sure what the criteria should be for retiring numbers -- it's hard to establish a hard set of rules in stone and have it be fair to everyone. But I will say that if the criteria makes room for Lionel Hollins to be in the Rose Garden's rafters, Porter should be there too."

Many thanks to Mr. Hendrickson.  Now it's your turn.

Haven't yet emailed me your memories of TP?  Do it now.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

0 recs | Comment 13 comments | Add your comment

Story-email Email | Print |

Comments

Display:

Here he is

Captain Terry

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 6, 2008 9:43 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

When I was a youngster...

Terry Porter lived around the block from my Tualatin abode. My friend and I journeyed there once on foot, knocked on his door and asked for his autograph.

My friend being very wise and patient kept his ball and signature safe and intact. Meanwhile, since I’m an idiot, my brother and I played with our ball until the signature was worn off, the ball went flat and we lost it. True story.

by MavetheGreat on May 6, 2008 10:02 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Man

I laughed out loud. I had a shoe box full of baseball cards from the 1980’s. I had no idea if any of them had any value and planned on waiting until I was in my 40’s or something and check them out. I went in the navy and came home after boot camp and my family, thinking I wouldn’t be home for four years, pillaged my stuff and my brother sold all my baseball cards. It was like buying a pizza and everyone eating it while you were in the lavatory.

"Show some respect to this living legend, this hall of famer...Arvydas Sabonis." - Bill Walton

by tominhawaii on May 6, 2008 10:09 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Seriously man....

...always, always go #2 before you order the pizza. Ya just can’t take these risks

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 6, 2008 10:22 PM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

Terry Porter WAS the man

TP was a warrior, truly many of my favorite PTB moments involve TP…. from like 8 straight 3’s against Golden State, or the miracle 3 point loft against Seattle, to his dogged tenacious and ferocious D against Stockton and the Jazz in all those playoffs, TP was central. Clyde Drexler stole all the thunder, but TP was the Tesla coil that ignited that team. I say team, because Terry was the consummate teammate as well.

I laughingly remember when that whole Salt Lake City young girls fiasco erupted, TP was the first guy to say “NOT ME!!” Anyone who has followed the PTB knows TP WAS the man.

If you dont talk to your cats about catnip, who will?

by bow4meow on May 6, 2008 10:49 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

What else can a Blazer do

To get his number retired? It makes no sense.

ESPECIALLY when anyone who even listened to the ‘77 team on the radio has had their number retired. I ain’t heard of all ‘dose guys ‘cept Mr. Mo Lucas and that Big Dumb Red Guy Walton, but they all have their numbers retired. It’s a crime that Terry Porter hadn’t had it done yet, especially after the whoever-he-was got his retired in the 06-07 season.

I know I should be more reverential towards the Championship team, but nothing is more small time than retiring everyone’s number off of that roster. We’ve had other teams that deserve some recognition…

And besides the obvious Stars, no one deserves it more than Terry Porter. Use ANY criteria: numbers, fan adulation, leadership, big moments, dedication to the team, whateva’ yo! TP-30 is #1 in my heart and I think of his keloid scarring on his arm whenever I need to perform in manly ways.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on May 7, 2008 1:27 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

slight exaggerations

not everyplayer or fan of that team was retired. Why you refer to Bill Walton as you do, as many do, continues to baffle me. Did you watch Walton play ever? He was awsome. He was arguably one of the most prolific collegiate players of all time. During the championship run, Walton led the PTB thru the Western Conference and crushed (I MEAN CRUSHED) the Kareem led L*kers in 4 straight. If it wasnt for Walton, the PTB would have one less championship and fewer players retired. Walton almost seems despised now. When he came out of college, he was shy and extremely soft spoken and riddled with the embarressment of a noticable lisp. Bill was courageous enough to conquer that, however in doing so, let his mouth try to catch up with all the thoughts he previously held in check, and to this day Bill probaly is still excavating radical ideologies mixed with todays political correctness that really only serves to earn fan ire.

The only numbers retired have been worn by guys who made significant contributions to the team. I dont see anything wrong with retiring the #s of guys who earned it, and those #s just arent that watered down.

TP has earned the right to have his # hung in pride. That is not stretching the truth. Terry Porter is EVERYTHING we could have asked for in a Portland Trail Blazer and <______ > that much more.
Case closed. Retire TP’s #.

If you dont talk to your cats about catnip, who will?

by bow4meow on May 7, 2008 8:09 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs

Bombastic Hyperbole

The fans reactions to Walton are colored by the persona he adopts for his color commentary. His bombastic hyperbole is what rubs some people the wrong way and since most don’t remember him as a player (sad, huh?), he seen as a buffoon by many. However to those of us that were there (figuratively in my case), he is arguably the greatest Blazer of all time (with Clyde a close 2nd).

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 7, 2008 8:31 AM PDT to parent up reply reply   0 recs

I was telling my Laker friend this

He was talking about how great an LA-Boston finals would be because of the old rivalry, and I told him I didn’t think it was a big deal. The first NBA game I ever watched was a Jazz game at my cousin’s house in the early 1990’s in Salt Lake City, and I didn’t watch another game until the last game of the 1996-97 NBA Finals.

I’ve never watched a single Blazer’s game before then. The only Blazers highlights I recall, from before I started watching the NBA, are always of other teams torching the Blazers. Same with Larry Bird, he’s just a guy in commercials with Michael Jordan. There is really no point in me sharing this. I’m all for retiring Porter’s number, it’s just amazing to me that I’ve been a Blazers fan for about 10 years and I know more about Porter as a coach than as a player.

"Show some respect to this living legend, this hall of famer...Arvydas Sabonis." - Bill Walton

by tominhawaii on May 7, 2008 1:00 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

free throws

I started mimicking TP’s free throw routine almost as soon as he joined the Blazers and it’s something that has stuck with me to this day…

"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany."

by dcblazer on May 7, 2008 1:38 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

I remember actually feeling embarrassed

when Bob Gross’ and Larry Steele’s numbers were retired, because it did seem, as Mortimer wrote, so small-time of Portland and the Blazers. I suspected the Blazers saw that lonely championship banner hanging from the rafters and thought a few player jerseys up there with it would put them in the same league as Boston and Los Angeles. I’m still embarrassed by it.

There is only one Blazer whose jersey should be hanging from the rafters: Clyde Drexler.

  • He played with the team a long time (1983-95)
  • His team made it to the finals.
  • He was the best player on the team.
  • He was a 10-time All-Star.
  • He is one of the Top 50 players of all time.
  • He is in the NBA Hall of Fame.
  • He was on the Dream Team.

The only thing missing from his Blazer resume is a championship, but he at least got one with Houston. No other Blazer past or present is in the same universe as Clyde. I can’t count Walton because he was a Blazer too few years.

Rather than retire TP’s number, I’d like to see the Blazers unretire every former player’s number except for Clyde’s.

My minimum criteria for a team retiring a player’s number are:

  • Must be with the team for at least seven years.
  • Must be at least a three-time All-Star with the team.
  • Must win a championship or make it to the championship game at least once with the team.

You could argue that a player of bad character, or who has a history of dissing fans or having problems staying out of the legal system, should never have his number retired. That’s a gray area that would have to be decided case-by-case, and there may be others.

by MiledAnimal on May 7, 2008 2:36 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

According to the minimum criteria you set forth

TP misses out because he only made 2 Allstar Games not 3? BTW Walton should be up there because he is a HOF’er and best player on the championship team…regardless of how long he was on the team

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 7, 2008 3:04 PM PDT reply reply   0 recs

To me, the point is not just how we Blazer fans feel about a player

It’s about how the rest of the league feels about him, too. TP was a fine player and person, but his name doesn’t come up in conversations about great point guards in NBA history. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.24 steals for his career—hardly impressive numbers.

Compare him to Mo Cheeks, whose number is also retired with Philly. He was a 4X All-Star, 4X All-Defensive First Team, three trips to the finals, one championship, 11.7 ppg, third all-time in steals, eighth all-time in assists.

Now you’re going to point out that the Sonics retired Nate’s number, and his stats and accomplishments were less than TP’s, though Nate also coached the Sonics. It’s another gray area.

Both Walton and TP are tough outs for me. I liked them both, especially Walton. To me, the retirement of a player’s number should be a rare and special honor and you need tough criteria to keep it that way. I just don’t feel right about giving that honor to someone who played as few years as Walton did.

I’m hoping that 20 years from now we’ll see at least three more jerseys at the Rose Garden. I hope we don’t see 12 more!

by MiledAnimal on May 8, 2008 9:49 AM PDT reply reply   0 recs


User Tools

A site by Blazer fans, for Blazer fans
Ad-medium-smq

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Funny-pictures-orange-cat-driving_small
A few fallacies and a poll
Small
Sergio Article
Brevity2052373070710_small
OT Unofficial Impersonation Contest
Img_0507_small
Should Mike D'Antoni Pull a Nate
Small
the offseason lull on blazersedge

Recent FanPosts

Small
Calling My Shot Now: A Blazer Trade That Works
Roy-sparq2_small
Anybody watching the playoffs?
Img_1172_small
fatty sighting?
Jeffpark_small
Who do you not want to get Beasley/Rose?
Small
What if?
H_small
Boom or bust?
2headturt_small
Calderon available?!?
Images_small
The Problem with Upgrades
Huge_cat_small
95.5 the game
Brevity2052373070710_small
(OT) In Honor of Amlmart1

Post New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini


Ad-banner-faketeams
Site Meter