Remembering Philadelphia basketball legend Dr. Jack Ramsay

I do not remember the first time I met the man -- I am just grateful that I did.

Jack Ramsay above all things was a perfect gentleman. That he coached my father in college is irrelevant in this conversation. That Jack Ramsay invited my father, Jim Lynam, into the NBA fraternity, again, is a topic for a different conversation.

The world lost Jack Ramsay on Monday. He was a true, genuine good spirit who, by his existence and the way he carried himself, made those around him better and made them think about why and how they could be better.

When I was 15 years old, my father decided to take a job as an assistant on Ramsay’s Portland Trail Blazers.

What was a wonderful opportunity for a 40-year-old college basketball coach was, on the surface, a death sentence for a high school sophomore.

From Philadelphia to Portland we went and yes, at 15, I found nothing good about the move until Coach Ramsay introduced me to a man who gave me a job.

George Wasch hired me to sit at halfcourt during Trail Blazers games and direct a microphone towards the action. I was the shotgun microphone operator.

During timeouts, I had to stick the microphone in the huddle. I remember Coach Ramsay on several occasions being none too pleased about me doing my job, but I would take his stare down like a grain of salt.

After the game I remember waiting desperately to tell him, "I was just doing my job.” And he would chuckle and say, “I know Dei.”

Dr. Jack’s wife grew ill with alzheimer’s disease at some point when I had moved back to work at Comcast SportsNet, and I remember thinking how horrible that must feel for a person -- being with someone whom you've loved for five decades and watching them gradually forget who you are.

Coach Ramsay was a stoic, proper man who had helped get me a job at the age of 15, and in that moment I felt compelled to do something.

I gave Dr. Jack a copy of the book The Notebook, a story about true love that -- despite comparable circumstances the main character had with his wife -- found a way through a horrific disease, sometimes for only 10 minutes at a time.

When I gave the book to Dr. Jack, those close to him said I was crazy and he would never read it. It wasn't his style.

They were wrong.

The thank you note I received from him brought tears to my eyes, and I keep it to this day because it reminds me always to trust your heart.

Jack Ramsay was as good as the day is long. He was a huge part of my father’s life and a small, but important, part of mine.

Jack Ramsay taught me to carry yourself with class, to be humble, to love your family and be great at your craft.

Thank you, Dr. Jack.

-- Dei Lynam, CSNPhilly.com