A few notes about last weekend's Jacob Ranton tournament and Online auction. I spoke to Doug and Sandra on their tenth year of supporting the WRSPC ( Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council) and shared some amazing stats and emotions about the support shown.  The amount from the year is still be finalized but the total will be around $450,000 raised through the love of the Waterloo and basketball community.

Speaking of love, not only did one of Jacob's teammates from Memorial bring his Gonzaga team from St John's, NFLD for the third year but in a beautiful moment during the coaches breakfast Doug and Sandra were called out in the hall and there stood three other Memorial alumni! 

The beauty of the human spirit. 

Speaking of human spirit, Olympia Sports Camp has a long list of  'larger than life' personalities who have walked the land of Interlaken and inspired hundreds of campers. None greater or more impactful than Walker D Russell. 

The journey of Walker D's professional career was as circuitous as the path that Dave took to get  NBA,WNBA, and other pros to come to Olympia over the years. Let me explain the connections it took to have NBA players as guest speakers every week, for 50 plus years.  

In chapter 9- Insights and Life Lessons, A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp looks at the evolution of the Hero's message and the role that NBA players served in inspiring campers, coaches and staff to see the possibilities. Dave Grace believed that those who have 'walked the walk' can inspire anyone chasing any goal. This goes back to the earliest years with Buffalo Braves stars Randy Smith and Bob McAdoo.

In the 90's  Olympia went into a multi-year agreement with Converse. This gave Converse the right to sell all the Olympia swag in the Tuck Shop, including the famous Chuck Taylors.  Converse also provided the staff golf shirts. The agreement also had Converse supply their sponsored NBA players as guest speakers at the camp. Pros like Curly Neal, Terry Tyler, and Gene Banks were among the multitude of pros that Converse deal brought to camp.

A confluence of Olympia connections occurred next. In 1993 Isaiah Thomas hired a scout to help prepare for the initial expansion draft and the college itself two years before the Raptors would take the floor. on November 3 1995. That scout was Walker D Russell. 

When the Toronto Raptors joined the NBA in 1995 they hired former Olympia coach Al Quance as their Community Relations Director. Dave Grace had known  Coach Quance for years when he was a coach at Harbord CI and Quance was at Oakwood. When Dave started Olympia in 1974 one of the first coaches he called was Al Quance. The good friends now had a perfect win/win:  The Raptors needed to help grow the game at the grassroots level and Olympia needed NBA types to come up to camp. The first Raptor coach to go to camp in 1994? Walker D Russell.

Walker D loved Olympia right away because it reminded him of his beloved Dave Bing Camp. Walker D had been at camps all his life and now was helping at camps with stars Isaiah Thomas, Vince Carter, Joe Dumars and many others. He felt at home at Olympia, working with kids, great staff, and above all, working with Dave Grace. 

In all the years of introducing Walker D, coaches would tell the campers that he played for 6 years in the NBA and was drafted by the 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons. All true, and the reality is that the route he took as a player and later as a scout / assistant coach is an example of the resilience the hero's journey takes. 

Walker D Russell was drafted in the 4th round of the 1982 draft by the Detroit Pistons and signed a three-year deal. He was released after only one year and bounced around between the Atlanta Hawks, the CBA  ( Continental Basketball Association) back to the Pistons, then a brief stay with the Indiana Pacers in 1988 before finishing his career in the Philippines in 1990. 

Walker D's journey through the scouting /coaching ranks started with that job with the Raptors. He started as a scout in 1993 and did that job until 2001, when he was named assistant coach. He was an assistant under Lenny Wilkens for 2 years. He then went to the New York Knicks as for the next 17 years before moving to Dallas where he is in his fifth year with the Mavericks.

All this and giving a part of his summer to Olympia. That place where he felt at home right away? It has become a place has has come every year since 1994. Some years he comes multiple weeks. Not only that, he has become the source of the NBA and WNBA players that come to camp. In his words he'd do anything for Dave Grace, and that includes using his myriad of connections to enhance the experience of Olympians. The list of pros that have come through Walker D is endless.

By the way, after that Olympia introduction, Walker D would take over the group with his enthusiasm and caring for the campers. He would tell the campers that they had to "Love ya'll self and love ya'll parents." To him, confidence was everything. Thinking back I smile at the recollection of Walker D using his personality to get the campers to follow him like the Pied Piper, even though many of them didn't understand his southern drawl. They still loved him, because they sensed that he loved them.

Many thanks Walker D. You're now named the Director of Basketball. It feesl like you've been that for a very long time.

Walker D Russell. Just one of the great people we get to meet on our journey. Our Hero's Journey.

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