Darryl Dawkins: A kid at heart who loved kids

DARRYL DAWKINS was more than a court jester. More than a supplier of monikers for dunks. And more than the guy in the loud, pastel or snakeskin suits.

I was fortunate enough to know Dawkins on a personal level. On four occasions, he came to speak at the basketball camp I operate and no distance was too far. One time he left his home in Allentown an extra hour early (6:30 a.m.) because he was afraid he might run into traffic on the Turnpike and be late for his 9:30 engagement in Willingboro, N.J. That's the Darryl Dawkins I was fortunate to know.

The first time I met him was in 2008. He shows up at the camp driving a minivan. Like most, I never associated Darryl Dawkins with a minivan. And he brought his son, Nick, with him. His nickname for Nick was Mocha (Janice, his wife, is white, so figure it out from there); such was Darryl's humor.

Most things with Darryl were about fun, but if you had a good cause, Darryl was serious. Whenever the NBA needed an ambassador for one of its junkets, whether it be China or Africa, Darryl was there. Whenever a member of the Kennedy family called him to help with the Special Olympics, Darryl was there.

The Special Olympics held a special place in Darryl's heart. Janice has a daughter, Tabitha, from a previous marriage who has Down syndrome. Darryl embraced Tabitha as his own and would always be ready to show up anywhere Eunice Kennedy asked. He was a good soul, taken much too early.

Dawkins was great with kids. At the camp, he worked the kids hard, but they didn't realize how hard they were working because Darryl had made the drills so much fun. He would come up with nicknames for each kid that were so funny that some of them can't be repeated.

He told stories of NBA players that were hysterical, historical and, also, can't be repeated.

One summer, Darryl came to talk at the camp when it was being held in Wilmington, Del. He had just finished his talk/clinic and, as a member of the New Jersey Nets' community relations department, Darryl had a bunch of "Brooklyn Nets" hats, long before the Nets' move from New Jersey was official. A few of our counselors, all basketball players at Penn Wood High School, heard about the hats and started chasing after Darryl through the parking lot and to his minivan, each looking to secure one. Darryl quickly jumped in the van and had a faux look of terror on his face. One of the young men stopped and said, "What's the matter?" And Darryl quickly quipped, "I thought you guys were gonna steal my car!" Each of the kids just collapsed on the ground in laughter.

That's the Darryl Dawkins I will always remember.