The Dunbar Poets featured future NBA players David Wingate, Reggie Williams, and Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues as well as three other Division 1 players. But he really didn’t. So someday somebody will hire me somewhere,” she said. She is a full-time ordained minister. Even though it worked out fine -- remember Banner 17? The vision feels as fresh today, with Durant set to enter free agency, as it did nine years ago, when the Celts had the second-best odds at landing him in the 2007 draft. Having a player of Durant’s stature wear Lewis’ No. He had a normal athlete’s heart. There’s a lot of conjecture as to the nature of the illness, the nature of the malady but whatever it was, it was inexplicable. Yet, what is fresh in the minds of those who loved him, coached him, played with him, and guided him is Reggie’s smile, Reggie’s humility, Reggie’s work ethic, Reggie’s generosity, Reggie’s confidence, Reggie’s passion. “I remember once someone wrote he was doctor fishing,” Harris Lewis told the Globe. The franchise, led by former Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt and general manager Jan Volk, was perplexed about the situation because of its seriousness and the possibility that Lewis’s career was over. “That quiet confidence, I never knew where it came from, I really didn’t. Inez Ritch of Baltimore was not mentioned in her son… Relationships. Lewis was 27 was when he passed away in 1993. Of course they could have. Williams, Bogues, and Lewis were all taken in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft.

We all were. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Durant will listen to the Celtics’ pitch when free agency opens on July 1.

When Lewis died, his relationship with the Celtics was damaged because he had questioned whether the franchise truly cared about his condition or took responsibility in case something more serious occurred. “He played in practice against Reggie Williams, Tim Dawson, he played against those guys every day in practice and he did a great job. It almost feels like destiny. He was a unique, unique kid.”, Calhoun laughs loudly when asked for his favorite Reggie Lewis story. Gavitt died in 2011. And the one who was closest to him, Donna, talks of the difficulty of moving forward, the uncertainty of his health at the time of his death. People make a big to-do and that was explained by the family and explained to everybody but you can’t fight what a lot of people say.”. 35 in 1995 not only for his triumphs on the court, but his impact off it. The tweet was representative of Boston’s all-in recruitment of Durant, but it also sent a reminder to fans of what could’ve been -- not just of Durant, but of another No. Lewis’s shining moment was when he was named MVP of the Johnstown Tournament in Pennsylvania as a senior, taking over when two of his teammates had fouled out. The growth of Lewis as a player offered the Celtics hope and optimism for the post-Bird era. The struggling D.C./Baltimore area longs for him to return home, but Boston isn’t far and could serve as a close connection to the area. You can’t win. With rumors swirling around the Celtics’ looming pursuit of Durant, Isaiah Thomas recently sent out a tweet with Durant's No. On the day before he was drafted, he attended Donna’s graduation from Northeastern, wearing the same Filene’s Basement navy blue suit and tie he would wear to the Celtics draft press conference the next day. “We were trying to get the help, we were trying to seek help.

For the next several weeks, Lewis believed Mudge’s diagnosis and yet also received a third opinion in California, according to Harris Lewis. Reggie Lewis said he was shocked that a deal was worked out so quickly. It’s official now. I asked Lewis’ mother, Inez Ritch, how she’d feel if the Celtics asked for her blessing to offer No. Thanks for remembering him! Then, as Durant walked slowly down the hallway towards his team bus, he looked at the Celtics legends pictured on the wall and whispered, “Man, there's a lot of history in this building.". Reggie Lewis played at Northeastern from 1983 to 1987. Reggie and I were 11 months apart, for him to see his kids grow up, I think that would have been a joy. . “The reason why it’s not there yet, my daughter, when she’s ready, that’s when we’re going to do it. Lewis was the Celtics’ first-round draft pick out of Northeastern University in 1987, a year after the franchise tragically lost Maryland’s Len Bias to heart failure related to cocaine use just two days after he was drafted. His life could have been saved. Lewis never started a game in high school. She continues Lewis’s charity work.

Without Lewis and Bias, the Celtics were missing two All-Star talents who would have at least helped the franchise compete with the Michael Jordan Bulls and other emerging clubs in the 1990s.

Like Lewis, Durant can score by shooting over the top or by dunking loudly at the rim. It occurred during his freshman year at Northeastern when he pulled his coach aside and asked him, “Coach, I have a serious question I want to ask you, can you not yell at me in front of the players? “I don’t think it would take anything from Reggie because his number is still hanging up in the Garden,” Ritch told me over the phone. Reggie told Donna he was going to Brandeis for a workout. Thank you for remembering him and his son Reggie, Jr. and Reggiena know he was a special man first and a professional basketball player second. Hindsight is 20-20, Reggie passed away trying to figure out what was wrong. Instead, they were relegated to using stopgap players and trying to recapture young prospects in the draft. American public figure, the son of Celtics basketball star Reggie Lewis, whose death led to years of litigation between his widow and insurance companies over whether his death was caused from a heart condition or drug abuse. At 6 feet 6 inches and lean, Lewis had the ability to score from midrange and also the length and athleticism to drive to the basket. . It’s hardly a fitting memorial for someone held in such high esteem and so sorely missed, but it will remain that way until it’s time for Reggiena Lewis to say goodbye and hello.