Canaan Chatman

It is with great appreciation and immense humility that I accept this honor of joining such an exclusive collective of outstanding Portland high school athletes!

My journey may be a little different than others as I was never in the inner circle of being considered elite until later in my athletic career. Entering Benson as a 5’9” freshman, I was fortunate to make our 15-man freshman team which happened to win the city championship in 1986/87. I played a support role as a 3rd string player but was happy to be amongst such a dynamic group of superior athletes who not only excelled on the court/ field but more importantly in the classroom and our community.

It was at this time that I was coached by Rick Winters and was told that I would be lucky to play varsity as a senior for THE Benson Tech! That premonition, inspired me to not only prove Coach Winters wrong but prove to myself that I had something deeper in me that I was determined to maximize.

The summer between my freshman year and sophomore year, I grew 6 inches to return as a 6-4 lanky forward who began to find himself as a student athlete with dreams of moving beyond my NE Portland neighborhood and use the game of basketball to catapult me off of the block and into college and beyond.

As a sophomore, I played JV and was gaining confidence as a player. It was during this time that a line was drawn in the sand as to the realization of my athletic dreams. Spearheaded by seeing two of my best friends, Orlando Williams and Kenny Warren, earning an opportunity to swing JV/varsity but probably equally as impactful, having their larger-than-life pictures posted in the gym. This was a proud moment for me as I knew that I could eventually get there.

As juniors and seniors, we all played strong roles on varsity and felt that college was within an arm’s reach. Through morning workouts, summer travel teams, camps and clinics we “stayed in the lab” choosing to perfect our craft relentlessly -- whether it was Saturday morning Open Gym or touring local parks to compete against the Best of the Best that the city had to offer. Ultimately, cutting the nets down in 1990 as OSAA State Champions, a dream was realized and a HOOPER was born!

I would like to shout out to my mom, Brenda Chatman, for raising me as a single mother with a stern hand. If she didn’t block my plans to move from Whitaker to Jefferson, none of this would have happened. To Marshall Haskins, Coach Leon McKenzie and a handful of others that believed in me before I believed in myself, I am forever indebted! To my wife of 37 years, LaShea, who was with me from 1989 to present day, I LOVE YOU!

Lastly, I would like to thank all of my teammates for my four years at Benson Tech, but mostly Orlando and Kenny!  We PUSHED each other daily! Neither of us wanted to be the one that didn’t make it, that was motivation in itself. Making sure our grades were on point, our character wasn’t in question and battling with that damn SAT test, that would be the final step to actually receiving a full-ride college scholarship. WE did it and then some…

A special thanks to the induction committee for even considering a young NE Portland kid from Alberta Park. Hopefully my journey will inspire others while daring kids to dream bigger than their current situation. If you stay DOWN, you will come UP!

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