Kerry Eggers, author of the recently published biography of Longwood alum and 17-year NBA veteran Jerome Kersey, will be in attendance at this weekend’s men’s basketball Jerome Kersey Classic tournament in Willett Hall and around Farmville for several special book-signing events.
Eggers, a longtime sportswriter in the Portland, Ore., area who covered Kersey during his playing days with the Trail Blazers, will sign copies of his book, Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds, which details the life of Longwood’s most prominent basketball talent and the namesake of the Lancers’ home court.
Eggers will sign copies of the book at the Barnes & Noble at Longwood Bookstore on Farmville’s Main Street from 12-2 p.m. Friday and at North Street Press Club from 3-5 p.m., just before the Lancers tip off their three-day tournament with the opener against American that night. Eggers will also be on hand during Saturday’s Jerome Kersey Classic games as well, continuing his book signings from 4:30-8 p.m. during pregame, halftime and postgame of the tournament’s games.
Published by Dementi Milestone Publishing and pulled together by a team that includes Longwood alum Rohn Brown, longtime Longwood Sports Information Director Hoke Currie, Eggers and Virginia-based publisher Wayne Dementi, Jerome Kersey: Overcoming The Odds details Kersey’s life from his humble upbringing in Clarksville to his basketball breakout at Longwood and his decorated NBA career.
The 352-page biography will be available for purchase during the book signing and is also available in print from Dementi Milestone Publishing at www.dementibooks.com for $25 plus shipping and handling. Copies are also be available in the Barnes & Noble at Longwood Bookstore, and an e-book format is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The book is also available for purchase at every Longwood basketball home game at the Barnes & Noble table.
Throughout the book, Eggers uses a wealth of interviews and anecdotes from those close to Kersey to paint the picture of the man who won an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, finished second to Michael Jordan in the 1987 NBA Dunk Contest, and whose hustle and “No Mercy” style of play earned him a large following at both Longwood and in Portland, where he played 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers.
Longwood is also heavily represented in the book, with former teammates like Kenny Ford ’82, Orlando Turner ’83 and Mitch Walker ’84, Kersey’s longtime friend Kevin Brandon ’82, and former university officials like the late Franklin Grant ’80 all weighing in with stories about Kersey.
Kersey, who attended Longwood from 1981-84 and returned to complete his degree requirements in 2006 after the completion of his NBA career, passed away in 2015 at the age of 52. He was enshrined in the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005, served as the keynote speaker at Longwood’s 2009 Commencement, and became the namesake of Longwood’s home court in Willett Hall posthumously in 2015.
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