Furfari At-Large: Jerry West
January 16, 2004 02:05 PM | General
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Issue 3
Jerry West remains the greatest, most widely acclaimed player in West Virginia University's basketball history.
The Kanawha County native, now 65, is still active in the sport as president and CEO of the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies.
"I've had a great time down here," West said in a recent telephone interview. "To leave California for awhile and come to Memphis probably is one of the best things I've done in my life.
"It's been good for me to be working here. I like the people I'm working with. It's kind of an extension with West Virginia, to some degree. I obviously like people in the south."
As a 6-3, 180-pound guard, West led multi-talented WVU teams to a combined 61-12 record from 1957-60. Those won three Southern Conference championships and earned as many NCAA tournament berths.
The Mountaineers finished No. 1 in the national rankings his sophomore season. Then they came oh-so-close to capturing the NCAA title his junior year, losing to California by just 71-70.
West became the university's only unanimous All-America selection in both 1959 and 1960. There were nine such honor teams then, and he made all of them.
For his three-year career here, the former East Bank High School all-stater scored 2,309 points and pulled down 1,240 rebounds. Both are all-time WVU records which may never be broken.
In all, he established 17 records as a Mountaineer. He averaged an incredible 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds for 31 games his senior season.
West and Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson were generally regarded as the two best players in all of college basketball in 1959-60. Both went on to co-star in the Pan American and Olympic Games, leading the USA to world titles.
After that, West spent 14 years as a superstar in the NBA with Los Angeles. Fred Schaus, his coach at WVU, left at the same time to coach the Lakers. Schaus later became LA's general manager.
During his NBA career, West averaged 27.0 points and 5.8 rebounds for 932 games. He made the all-NBA first team seven times and the all-defensive team four years in a row.
He set a single-game scoring record for guards with 63 points against the New York Knicks on Jan. 17, 1962. His 840 free throws made in 1965-66 also were an NBA record. And he led the league in scoring in 1970, averaging 31.2 ppg.
West played in all 14 all-star games during his NBA career and was voted MVP in 1972. At one time he held the NBA record for playoff points with 3,708. He was playoff MVP in 1969.
The fifth player in history to top the 6,000 mark in assists, he ranked among the NBA's top five in scoring, minutes played, field goals and field goal percentage when retiring in 1974.
West served a short stint as coach of the Lakers, then moved up to vice president and general manager. Under his leadership, LA won five NBA championships in the 1980s.
He's a member of the college and pro basketball halls of fame. In 1991 he became a charter member of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
West was so highly regarded in the NBA that officials selected him as the model for the league's logo. WVU named the Jerry West Lounge in the Coliseum in his honor.
It isn't widely known, but he probably has given back to his alma mater in contributions more than any other former WVU student-athlete.
"The university has been kind of a guiding star in my life," West said. "I try to do some little things (financial support). I don't want others to know."
That's not surprising, though. The gentleman some called "Zeke from Cabin Creek" never has lost his love for West Virginia.
He returns on occasion without any fanfare for brief visits with relatives and close friends. That's the way he likes it to be.
