Men's Basketball: Jonnie West Signs With WVU
April 12, 2006 03:39 PM | General
April 12, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University basketball coach John Beilein has announced the signing of Jonnie West to a national letter of intent. West, the youngest son of former WVU All-American Jerry West and mother, Karen, will enroll at West Virginia University in August and will be eligible to participate in basketball this fall.
West, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard from Memphis, Tenn., averaged 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a senior at Lausanne Collegiate School. He was named all-state in Division 2 by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. West was recently selected as one of the top 20 seniors to play in the Memphis All-Star Classic at FedEx Forum.
During his senior season, West shot 86 percent from the free throw line, made 62 3-point field goals and had 59 blocks. His team finished with a 19-11 record that posted a district runner-up finish.
"As we like in all our players, Jonnie can really shoot the ball and has exceptional talent," says Beilein. "Jonnie is young in age and is still developing physically."
As a junior, West averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game and was named to the Best of the Preps/All-Metro Class private schools boys basketball team by the Memphis Commercial Appeal. West was named first team all-district and second team all-state. He was one of 120 rising seniors invited to the Nike camp in Indianapolis last summer.
West scored 9.2 points as a sophomore and 6.5 points as a freshman. Lausanne posted a 26-8 record during West's sophomore season and a 28-5 record during his freshman season on the way to finishing second in the state. Lausanne earned district championships during West's junior, sophomore and freshman seasons.
"Just like Patrick Beilein, obviously Jonnie comes from great stock," Beilein joked.
West becomes the seventh member of WVU's 2006 recruiting class. Last November, the Mountaineers inked Devan Bawinkel, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound swing man from Winnebago, Ill.; Da'Sean Butler, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward from Bloomfield, N.J.; Jacob Green, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward from Clinton, Md.; Joe Mazzulla, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Warwick, R.I.; Wellington Smith, a 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward from Summit, N.J.; and Cam Thoroughman, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound swing man from Portsmouth, Ohio. They will join 7-foot center Jamie Smalligan, who transferred from Butler and sat out the 2005-06 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
