Kevin Duckworth ✝

Kevin James Duckworth (April 1, 1964 – August 25, 2008) was an American professional basketball player at center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Illinois, he played college basketball at Eastern Illinois University before being drafted in 1986 in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs. Before completing his rookie season with the Spurs, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers where he spent most of his six seasons and was named the NBA\'s Most Improved Player and a two-time All-Star. After playing with three more teams he retired in 1997 and returned to Oregon where he would later work for the Trail Blazers\' organization.\n', ' Duckworth was born in Harvey, Illinois and grew up in Chicago, where he played basketball at Thornridge High School. At Thornridge, he participated in the 1980 and 1981 Illinois State Holiday Classic tournaments, which eventually became known as the State Farm Holiday Classic. Duckworth surpassed Cody Winter to become the greatest scorer in the event\'s history.\n', ' He attended Eastern Illinois University (EIU), where he set a university record of 867 rebounds, a record that still held at the time of his death. He also led EIU to the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament Championship in 1985 and was the tournament MVP in 1986.\n', '