Ervin, who passed away June 25 after battling bladder cancer, was recognized for assisting family and friends with, according to the Lenny Wilkens Foundation, "his love, humor, charm, generosity, infectious smile, and contagious laughter."
In 106 career games at Seattle University from 1976 to 1980, Ervin scored 1,304 career points, averaging 12.3 points per game. He dished out at least 100 assists in each season, including a career-high 179 assists (6.4 apg) during the 1977-78 season, the third-highest single-season total in program history. Ervin finished with 534 career assists, third on the all-time top ten list and the most recorded assists by any Seattle U player during the original Division I era (1950-80).
Ervin came to Seattle U from Cleveland High School, where he was part of one of the greatest high school teams in city history, leading the varsity squad to the AA state title in 1975 and the AAA state championship in 1976. During the 1976 state tournament, Ervin set records by dishing out 35 assists in four games, including 16 assists in a single game, and scored the winning basket in Cleveland's 42-41 victory over Lincoln High School from Tacoma in the title game, earning tournament MVP honors.
The most recent player from Seattle University to be drafted into the NBA, Ervin was taken in the seventh round of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics. He maintained his connection with the school after his playing days concluded, graduating with a bachelor's degree from the College of Arts and Sciences and serving as an assistant coach during the 1990s. Ervin was inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Ervin's widow Penny is now raising money to benefit research into curing bladder cancer, currently the fourth-leading cause of death among men. For more information about Penny's efforts, click here or on the link alongside this story.