He became a starter and was part of a great Portland squad that, together with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams, and Kevin Duckworth, reached the NBA Finals twice in the next three years (in 1990 and 1992). After that, he had to deal with back problems that prevented him from playing at a high level anymore. In 1991, after averaging 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists over 82 games, he announced his retirement from professional basketball. However, he came out of retirement two years later and signed with the New Jersey Nets, who were looking for a backup point guard behind Jason Kidd. He appeared in nine games before being waived by New Jersey. After that, he played one more season with the Brooklyn Nets, this time as a backup to Kenny Anderson. Jerome Kersey's career average of 19.3 points per game is the highest by a Portland Trail Blazer not named Bill Walton or Sam Bowie. He currently sits third on the team's all-time scoring list behind Walton and Dale Ellis. Kersey was born on January 4th, 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Baltimore, Maryland where he led his team to the 1988 State Title. That same year, he scored 22 points in the championship game against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.