Today, former Trail Blazer and team Ambassador Jerome Kersey will be among seven inductees in the class of 2008 Oregon Hall of Fame & Museum.

Kersey will be the 11th Trail Blazer and the 41st basketball player from Oregon to be inducted. He will be the first former Trail Blazer honored since his former teammate Clyde Drexler in 2001.

“It’s a great honor. It gives me perspective, especially not being originally from Oregon,” Kersey said. “I know a few of the other (inductees) were from here, so it’s truly an honor. It’s a good feeling to see people recognize what I did not only on the court, but in the community.”

The Virginia native – who was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year – joins Jack O’Billovich, Dick Gray, Candi Murray, Howard Mayo, Tinker Hatfield and George Freese in Oregon’s 2008 class.

After being drafted by Portland in 1984, Kersey finished his 11-year Trail Blazers career ranked second in games played (831) and rebounds (5,078), third in blocked shots (693) and steals (1,059), fourth in points (10,067) and eighth in assists (1,762). Following his time in Portland, he had stints with Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle, San Antonio and Milwaukee before he retired in 2001. Kersey won an NBA title while with the Spurs in 1998-99.

Legendary voice of the Trail Blazers Bill Schonely will serve as the Master of Ceremonies at the induction, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Multnomah Athletic Club.