SYRACUSE, N.Y.  — Kinney Drugs has partnered with Syracuse University Athletics to honor the memory of former Orange basketball star Dwayne “Pearl” Washington and benefit pediatric-cancer research at the same time.

Washington, who played guard for the Syracuse men’s basketball team in the mid-1980s, died on April 20 of this year at the age of 52. 

Washington had been diagnosed with a brain tumor during the summer of 2015. He had surgery during the fall but was unable to survive his illness.

Kinney Drugs this week started offering customers a chance to buy a Pearl Washington “mini jersey” for a $1 in its 77 stores across New York, according to a Dec. 7 news release on cuse.com.

Customers can write their name or a short tribute to Pearl on the jersey, which the store will display. 

Kinney Drugs will then donate all the proceeds to pediatric-cancer research through the Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation.

The program continues through Jan. 30, 2017, according to the news release.

In addition, the partnership also includes two commemorative Pearl items — a jersey pin and an original design Pearl magnet — that will be handed out to fans at Saturday’s Syracuse Orange basketball game against rival Georgetown.

Kinney Drugs is the drug-store division of KPH Healthcare Services, Inc., which is headquartered in Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County.

Kinney Drugs has “really gotten behind this Pearl project,” Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim said at a Dec. 7 press conference announcing the partnership.

“This is a project to honor one of the great players but one of the great people that we’ve ever had here … a guy that has meant more to our program than really anybody,” said Boeheim. 

 “As an employee-owned local healthcare company, Kinney Drugs is proud to team up with Syracuse Athletics to honor the many contributions Pearl made to both Syracuse University Basketball and our entire region,” Rick Cognetti, VP of marketing & retail merchandising at Kinney Drugs, said in the Syracuse news release. “His contributions to SU and the greater Syracuse community, and his courageous battle against cancer, serve as an inspiration to all of us. We are honored to work with Jim & Juli and the Boeheim Foundation to raise both awareness and research funds for pediatric cancer research in Pearl’s name.”

Washington’s collegiate career covered three seasons between 1983 and 1986. He tallied 1,490 career points, a total that still ranks 25th on the school’s all-time scoring list, Syracuse said. 

He led the Orange in scoring as a junior, averaging 17.3 points per game.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com