Jerry West led West Virginia to the NCAA Finals in 1959 WVU Sports Communications photo

West Virginia's memorable 1997-98 run to its first Sweet 16 in more than 30 years is really just the latest chapter in 100 years of basketball history filled with success.

For example, did you know that West Virginia won as many league games as any team in the BIG EAST conference over the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons? After 94 seasons of competition and more than 1,400 victories, West Virginia boasts as rich a basketball tradition as any school in the nation.

Beginning basketball in 1904, the Mountaineers spent their first five seasons in the Armory. The game had been played among students as an intramural sport since 1898 without the organization of a formal University team.

One of the main obstacles that impeded the organization of a team was a lack of facilities in which to play. Also, funds were scarce and it was not known if people would pay money to attend games. The first year proved to be a financial setback; a deficit of $415 had built up by the end of the season, but the Mountaineers had experienced success on the court, winning four of their seven games.

The problem of the cagers conflicting with ROTC was never resolved and the lack of practice facilities and limited funding caused the program to be dropped to intramural status in 1908. Basketball remained an intramural sport for seven years before it was reinstated in early 1915 under the direction of athletic director and coach George Pyle.

By 1915, public clamor over basketball had grown nationwide. With approval of the Board of Regents and under Pyle's direction, "The Ark" was built near the site of present day Stansbury Hall. The new facility was opened on January 6, 1916 and the Mountaineers called it home for 12 seasons.

The Gold and Blue cagers quickly became an Eastern power. After several .500 campaigns, new coach Francis Stadsvold, an all-Big 10 center at Minnesota, took the 1920 squad to a 12-10 mark, at that time the most wins ever. Instituting a quicker, more deliberate offense, Stadsvold was an innovator; his teams dominated local opponents.

In 1928, the 4,500-seat WVU Field House, now Stansbury Hall, was built at a cost of more than $300,000. In the "basketball palace of the East," the Mountaineers won 25 of the first 30 contests. Stars such as Marshall "Little Sleepy" Glenn and Truehart Taylor attracted much attention.

With Stadsvold's retirement in 1933, Glenn became coach. He, too, was an innovator, instituting a complicated passing attack to outfinesse the opposition. Glenn's first three clubs were 47-17; notable players included John "Squint" Phares and high scorer Jack Gocke.

West Virginia finally arrived at the top in 1942, with a stunning performance in the National Invitation Tournament. Invited last among eight teams, the WVU cagers rode a train to New York, getting to Madison Square Garden just in time for their first-round game with top seed Long Island. After upsetting the top-seeded Blackbirds 58-49 in overtime, Coach Dyke Raese's squad defeated Toledo and Western Kentucky to capture the national championship. MVP Rudy Baric, All-American Scotty Hamilton and teammates Dick Kesling, Roger "Shorty" Hicks and Lou Kalmar became overnight celebrities.

Baric, Harry Lothes and John Brickels followed as wartime coaches. In 1946, Lee Patton led the Mountaineers to their first 20-win season, 24-3, as WVU finished third in the NIT. The next year, West Virginia ranked first in the nation at 18-1, advancing to the NIT semifinals before being upset to finish at 19-3.

Outstanding players Leland Byrd, who was WVU's first 1,000-point scorer and second first team All-American, Clyde Green, Fred Schaus and Eddie Beach characterized the Mountaineers' switch to a run-and-pass offense and man-to-man defense.

Patton, whose teams were 91-26, died in an automobile accident late in the 1950 season. Under Patton, WVU continued a string of home victories that began with the last game of the 1944 season and extended to 57 home games and the final game of the 1949 season when Pitt snapped the skein. That mark still stands as the longest home winning streak in Mountaineer hoops history.

	Hot Rod Hundley packed gyms with his zany antics and brilliant play WVU Sports Communications photo

Robert "Red" Brown came from Davis and Elkins to take over as coach. During four seasons, Brown posted a 72-31 record before stepping up to become athletic director from 1954 to 1972.

Referred to as the first "Golden Era" in Mountaineer basketball, the 1950s was one of West Virginia's most prosperous decades. The Mountaineers compiled a record of 218-68, won six Southern Conference titles, competed in six NCAA tournaments, completed the 1958 regular season as the nation's top-ranked team and finished as the NCAA national runner-up in 1959. Indeed it was a "golden" time for West Virginia basketball.

One of Brown's top stars was All-American Mark Workman, who, in 1952, became West Virginia's third All-American. He amassed 1,553 points during his career.

Red Brown hired Fred Schaus as his replacement and he continued the first "Golden Era" of Mountaineer basketball. Behind All-American Hot Rod Hundley, the "Clown Prince of Basketball," West Virginia won three consecutive Southern Conference championships, posting records of 19-11, 21-9 and 25-5. Hundley finished his career with 2,180 points, 57 games of more than 20 points and a Mountaineer single-game record of 54 points against Furman in 1957.

With the arrival of Jerry West, West Virginia enhanced that success with three more conference titles, NCAA trips and the 1959 finish as national runners-up. WVU lost a heartbreaker to California, 71-70, in the title game. The year before, the Mountaineers sported a 23-1 regular season record, earning the top ranking in the polls before being upset in the first round of the NCAAs.

West, considered by most to be one of the greatest basketball players ever, became WVU's all-time scoring leader with 2,309 points. He also set the standard with 1,240 career rebounds.

While Hundley and West were the leaders, there were many stars in the Mountaineer galaxy during this era -- Lloyd Sharrar, Bucky Bolyard, Lee Patrone, Ronnie Retton (father of Olympic gold medalist gymnast Mary Lou Retton), Bob Smith, Joedy Gardner, Don Vincent, Jim Ritchie and Willie Akers.

With the departure of Schaus and West to the professional ranks in 1960, George King took charge. King's star was All-America guard Rod Thorn, and WVU made three more NCAA tournament trips as Southern Conference champs. Thorn poured in 1,785 career points and earned All-American and Southern Conference player of the year honors.

	Guard Wil Robinson was West Virginia's last basketball All-American in 1972 WVU Sports Communications photo

In 1966, Bucky Waters became coach and continued to win with players like Ron "Fritz" Williams. West Virginia basketball, then under Coach Sonny Moran, moved into the WVU Coliseum in 1970. Players such as Wil Robinson held their own, and with the return of Joedy Gardner in 1974 as head coach, WVU moved ahead, with such players as Lowes Moore, Maurice Robinson, Warren Baker, Stan Boskovich and Bob Huggins.

In 1978, another former cager returned -- Gale Catlett -- along with soaring fortunes in Morgantown. He ushered in the second "Golden Era" of Mountaineer basketball and has recorded 11 20-win seasons, while reestablishing the dominance of the home court at West Virginia.

With players such as Russel Todd, Greg Jones, Lester Rowe (now a Mountaineer assistant coach), Dale Blaney, Herbie Brooks, Darryl Prue, Steve Berger, Chris Brooks, Chris Leonard, Tracy Shelton, Marsalis Basey, Ricky Robinson, Seldon Jefferson, Gordon Malone, Damian Owens, Jarrod West, Brent Solheim and Calvin Bowman, Catlett engineered 16 postseason appearances, nine consecutive during the 80s. His teams made the NCAA tournament eight times, earned two Atlantic 10 tournament championships, three A-10 regular season titles and a 1981 NIT Final Four berth.

It seems only fitting that the state that has been responsible for perhaps the most exciting collegiate and professional basketball in the country finds its star on the rise in the most exciting and competitive conference in the country. West Virginia's initiation into the BIG EAST conference in 1995-96 was one of the finest in league annals. Its second season in the league produced an NIT bid.

But the third time truly was the charm as West Virginia became a force in the BIG EAST conference. The Mountaineers spent the majority of the season in the top 25 and were in the hunt for the league title until the final week. But it was in the NCAA tournament that West Virginia carried the BIG EAST banner.

	Jarrod West hit this shot against Cincinnati to send West Virginia to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament AP photo

A No. 10 seed in the West, WVU traveled to Boise, Idaho, to face seventh-seeded Temple. The game pitted two former Atlantic 10 foes and two long-time rivals -- Catlett and John Chaney -- in a game that figured to come down to the wire. The result however, was nearly incomprehensible. WVU pressed and frustrated Temple the entire game and handed the Owls their worst ever loss in NCAA competition 82-52. The win sent the Mountaineers on to a second round meeting against No. 2 seed Cincinnati.

The WVU-Cincinnati game would become one of those games that will be talked about for years; a game that would transcend the miles when the littlest Mountaineer, Jarrod West, would capture the heart of not only a state, but the entire nation. Each time one team made a big basket and seemed on verge of pulling away, the other found a way to answer. The lead changed hands 10 times and there were seven ties on the way to a memorable, magical finish.

The Mountaineers took a 72-68 lead on Brian Lewin's jumper with 1:30 to play. But Cincinnati's superb guard D'Juan Baker hit back-to-back three pointers, the second one coming with just seven seconds left to play, to seemingly give the Bearcats a 74-72 victory. But West took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the court. He came around a Lewin screen and banked in the shot heard from Morgantown to Cincinnati. West's improbable 22-footer gave the Mountaineers a 75-74 upset and a trip to the Sweet 16.

West and his teammates became immediate fan favorites at the West Regional in Anaheim, Calif., as the Mountaineers fought Utah tooth and nail before falling 65-62. It was the toughest challenge the Utes would face on the way to the NCAA championship game.

A new era began for Mountaineer basketball began in 2002-03 when John Beilein took over the reigns. He guided his young team to 14 wins, including an upset over No. 8 Florida.

Now West Virginia looks to further etch its own place in the history of a conference that has produced three national champions (Georgetown - 1984, Villanova - 1985, Connecticut - 1999) and has sent seven different teams to 11 Final Fours.

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