For the better part of two decades, spanning 1985 through 2005, there were essentially two point guards for the Trail Blazers: Terry Porter and Damon Stoudamire, both of whom left an indelible impact in Rip City. Porter, who played his first 10 NBA seasons with the Blazers, from 1985-1995, was the floor general for the early 90s teams that captured the city’s collective heart. The Portland-native Stoudamire, who was originally selected with No. 7 overall draft pick by the Toronto Raptors in 1995, was acquired by the Trail Blazers in 1998 where he remained the team’s play-caller until 2005.
Today, Porter, now 53, and Stoudamire, 43, find themselves in strikingly similar positions in their respective careers. Last March, Stoudamire took over the head coaching position at Stockton, California's University of the Pacific. One month later, Porter was named the head coach at West Coast Conference rival University of Portland. While Porter had racked up a decade of experience on various NBA coaching staffs, this marked the first venture into college sports.
Upon learning they would be coaching in the same conference, the two former Blazers exchanged texts congratulating each other. While they were never teammates, Porter and Stoudamire have forged a relationship through what Porter proudly calls 'the Blazer alumni family' noting how each guy knows how much the pinwheel means to the city.
As a student athlete at Wilson High School, Stoudamire looked up to the two-time NBA All-Star and his Trail Blazers teammates in the 1980s, recalling a few times when he ditched school to sneak into Blazers practice at PCC-Sylvania.
Despite being 10 years his senior, it was Porter that reached out to Stoudamire for advice during his transition from pros to college. The younger Stoudamire is now in his sixth season at the collegiate level after spending five incredibly successful seasons on both the University of Arizona and University of Memphis’ coaching staffs. When he decided to make the leap from assistant to head coach, he immediately realized the gravity of single-handedly turning around a program. Though the former Arizona Wildcat’s eyes lit up when he talked about his favorite part of the job: recruiting. While some coaches rely on their assistants to do the bulk of their recruiting, Stoudamire wants to personally evaluate each prospect with his own two eyes, using the metaphor “I like to pick my own groceries”.
“These kids have so much energy — you kind of live off their energy,” said Porter, reflecting on his first season leading the Pilots. He claims the recruiting and academics aspects that come hand-in-hand with an NCAA job were his biggest adjustments. He was quick to add, with a smile: “the basketball part has been exciting though; to be able to teach and talk a lot about the game with these kids each and every day.” Having two sons that will eventually play for the Pilots was a big factor in his decision in taking the proverbial step down to the college ranks. The Porter boys feel obligated to call him 'coach' in the gym, but he’s still just 'dad' at home.
Both coaches raved about the combo guard skills of Portland's current backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Having matriculated from a smaller school himself (Wisconsin - Stevens Point), Porter feels an innate connection with the two guards hailing from Weber State and Lehigh, respectively.
"Both of them, and myself, came from small beginnings. There wasn't much expected of us. We didn't have a lot of hoopla coming into the league. All of us have the same mindset; once we were given the opportunity we were going to make the most of it."
Stoudamire, who repeatedly referred to the Trail Blazers as 'we', relates as a fellow under-sized guard as well as the pressure of being a scoring guard. He's convinced the Trail Blazers, are just one scoring big man away from taking the next step. Mighty Mouse also noted he’s a fan of Lillard’s musical ability.
At the end of the night, it was the Stoudamire's Tigers leaving Chiles Center with double-digit win over Porter's injury-riddled Pilots.