It was pretty easy to spot former Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers forward Detlef Schrempf on the driving range on Monday at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course at The Showcase, a nine-hole exhibition golf event that raised more than $1 million for charity to fight cancer at the local levels around the Inland Northwest.

He was the only one who had to stoop down in order to shoot or putt golf balls. The 6-foot-10, 52-year-old, who was born in Leverkusen - then West Germany - talked with the Press an hour before competing in the Showcase along with PGA golfer Andres Gonzales and ending up shooting 1-over par as a team.

SCHREMPF KNOWS a thing or two about raising money for charity. He founded the Detlef Schrempf Foundation on Jan. 1, 1996, with his wife Mari as a vice president. The foundation holds its own golf tournament, the Detlef Schrempf Celebrity Golf Classic, now in its 22nd year, at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. This year, a gala and auction followed, featuring country singer Darius Rucker, former lead singer of "Hootie and the Blowfish."

"There are great causes here," Schrempf said. "Ours is children. Theirs is fighting cancer in the Inland Northwest and they do a great job here. Everyone has a mission. They had the Quarterback Classic here many years ago, so in the late '90s."

Schrempf has played at the Coeur d'Alene Resort course since the late 1980s.

"The course is in great shape," Schrempf said. "Hopefully I don't mess up too bad (golfing with Gonzales)."

No, Schrempf did not mess up too bad, from what I noticed during the event. He didn't really hit any bad shots into the trees, sand traps or heavy rough. Sure, he missed some putts from say, 12 feet or longer, mostly tapping them soft while trying to read somewhat tricky lies. But most of the celebrities did the same thing, just missing not-so-easy putts by a couple inches or so. In fact, former NFL quarterback Neil Lomax, ex-kicker Ryan Longwell, former NHL goalie Grant Fuhr, and Schrempf did not appear that much far off the PGA golfers. Sometimes, I thought a PGA golfer surely drilled a tee shot onto the green, only to find out it was one of the retired sports guys.

SINCE HE lives in Bellevue, plus he used to own a place nearly three hours east of Boise, Schrempf has been to north Idaho quite a few times since the late 1990s.

Schrempf lives with his wife, Mari, a former hurdler on the West German Olympic team in 1984 and his two sons, Alex and Michael.

Schrempf also excelled at the University of Washington, where he was a two-time first-team All Pac-10. In the 1985 NBA Draft - one which included the New York Knicks' Patrick Ewing as the top overall pick and Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors, plus Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons - Schrempf was picked eighth overall by the Dallas Mavericks.

"We've been here a lot," Schrempf said. "We used to have a place in Sun Valley, Idaho. Over the years, we've been here many times over 10 years or so in the late '90s."

Speaking of Seattle, Schrempf has doubts about a team returning to Seattle, either an expansion team or a team that's been rumored in the past to move up there like say, the Sacramento Kings. Seven years ago, the Sonics ended their 41-year residence in Seattle, relocated and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Stars like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook began their careers as Sonics.

In mid-February, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said there are no plans for any NBA teams to relocate and none for the league to expand. So for

"It depends on when there's an expansion franchise," Schrempf said. "It's not looking good right now."

AS AN NBA nut in the 1990s, in my humble opinion, Schrempf was among the most underrated players in basketball.

At times, he'd excel off the bench, as his back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in 1991 and 1992 while playing with the Indiana Pacers can attest. He also played in All-Star games during the 1993, 1995 and 1997 seasons.

After being traded to the Seattle SuperSonics before the 1993-94 season, Schrempf kept a full head of steam as a starting small forward and as a third scorer to Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, helped the team reach the NBA Finals in the 1995 season, before losing in six games to the Chicago Bulls. He is one of two German-born players, along with Dirk Nowitzki, to have played in the NBA Finals.

"I had a great time," Schrempf said. "I enjoyed it a lot. To play in those many games was a lot of fun."

Schrempf was known for his scoring ability - he averaged double figures in 11 straight seasons from 1989 to 1999 and averaged 14 points per game in 16 seasons - and his 3-point shooting, as he shot 38 percent from beyond the arc. Schrempf retired at the age of 38, after two years in Portland.

BACK IN 1996, I was an 18-year-old staying at a large hotel as part of my high school's mock trial team while preparing for the state tournament. I later learned that the place with the endless amount of floors was also the visiting teams' hotel for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. I was able to get Charles Barkley's autograph as he was waiting for a taxi, he was great.

My point is that Schrempf was among the Seattle SuperSonics who also roamed through the lobby. I tried to snag Gary Payton and Schrempf's autographs, but to no avail, as someone from the Sonics' staff shooed us teens and kids away.

So what comes around, goes around. It was nice to see Schrempf having a great time while helping raise money for another charity.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com or via Twitter @bourq25