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In the culmination of a project that was decades in the making, the biography of Longwood legend and 17-year NBA veteran Jerome Kersey, titled “Jerome Kersey: Overcoming the Odds” and written by longtime Portland sports journalist Kerry Eggers, is now available for purchase.

Published by Dementi Milestone Publishing and pulled together by a team that includes Longwood alum Rohn Brown, longtime Longwood Sports Information Director Hoke Currie Eggers and Virginia-based publisher Wayne Dementi, the book details Kersey’s life from his humble upbringing in Clarksville, to his basketball breakout at Longwood and his decorated NBA career.

The 352-page biography is available in hardback from Dementi Milestone Publishing at www.dementibooks.com for $25 plus shipping and handling. Copies will also be available in the Barnes & Noble at Longwood bookstore next month, and an e-book format is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Throughout the book, Eggers uses a wealth of interviews and anecdotes from those close to Kersey to paint the picture of the man who won an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, finished second to Michael Jordan in the 1987 NBA Dunk Contest and whose hustle and “No Mercy” style of play earned him a large following at both Longwood and in Portland, where he played 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers.

Longwood is also heavily represented in the book, with former teammates like Kenny Ford ‘82, Lonnie Lewis ‘86 and Mitch Walker ‘84, Kersey’s longtime friend Kevin Brandon ‘82, and former university officials like the late Franklin Grant ‘80 all weighing in with stories about Kersey.

Kersey, who attended Longwood from 1981-84 and returned to complete his degree requirements in 2006 after the completion of his NBA career, passed away in 2015 at the age of 52. He was enshrined in the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005, served as the keynote speaker at Longwood’s 2009 Commencement and became the namesake of Longwood’s home court in Willett Hall posthumously in 2015.