Former WVU Player Quertinmont Passes Away
December 04, 2017 04:57 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - One of the great supporters of West Virginia University athletics has passed away.
Jules "Buddy" Quertinmont, a two-year letterman for the Mountaineer basketball team in 1964-65 and a longtime WVU supporter, died suddenly yesterday in his native Point Marion, Pennsylvania.
Quertinmont was the first recruit signed by the late George King, who replaced Fred Schaus as West Virginia's head coach for the 1960-61 season. Quertinmont was a star player at Albert Gallatin High where he averaged 29.9 points per game as a senior in 1961.
He played on the Mountaineer freshman team in 1962 and then served in a backup role as a sophomore guard on King's 1963 squad that won 23 games and featured All-America guard Rod Thorn and future college coach Gale Catlett.
Quertinmont's best season at WVU came during his senior year in 1965 when he averaged 14.5 points per game, including scoring a career-high 32 points against Duke in a 20-point loss to the Blue Devils.
"He once told me all he ever wanted to do was to go to West Virginia," Jay Jacobs, former WVU player, current radio analyst and longtime friend, recalled. "He was a good shooter and he usually made them when he was open."
He also had outstanding games against George Washington (30 points), Davidson (25), Syracuse (25) and Virginia Tech (24) that season.
The Mountaineers upset their way through the Southern Conference Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a .500 record. That was King's final season at WVU before moving on to take the Purdue job.
Following graduation, Quertinmont continued to remain involved with his alma mater as owner and operator of Point Marion Ford. He was part of the group that started the Mountaineer Wheels Club in the mid-1970s to provide automobiles for West Virginia University coaches.
"Buddy and Lyle Horton started the wheels club and Buddy was around a bunch when I played," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "Buddy has kind of looked after guys when they graduated and he's just been great for the University."
"Buddy was just tremendous," Jacobs added. "He gave everything he had to the University from the time he became a player all the way through. His main thing was keeping in touch with all of the former players and all those head coaches he had close relationships with through the years."
He was an avid supporter of the WVU Letterman's Club and later served as president of the WVU Varsity Club.
Most recently, Quertinmont was a member of West Virginia University's Sports Hall of Fame Committee.
"It's great to have former players involved that understand a little bit better what it is and it's always great to have someone like Buddy to kind of bridge the eras," Huggins said.
Quertinmont was inducted into the Fayette County (Pennsylvania) Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
His daughter, Lori, was a four-year letterwinner in women's basketball for the Mountaineers and was one of the key members of West Virginia's NCAA Tournament team in 1992.
Quertinmont is also survived by his wife, Brenda, and son Buddy Jr,. who played college basketball at Washington & Jefferson.
The Quertinmonts have three grandchildren: Jacob, Maggie and Will.
Jules "Buddy" Quertinmont, a two-year letterman for the Mountaineer basketball team in 1964-65 and a longtime WVU supporter, died suddenly yesterday in his native Point Marion, Pennsylvania.
Quertinmont was the first recruit signed by the late George King, who replaced Fred Schaus as West Virginia's head coach for the 1960-61 season. Quertinmont was a star player at Albert Gallatin High where he averaged 29.9 points per game as a senior in 1961.
He played on the Mountaineer freshman team in 1962 and then served in a backup role as a sophomore guard on King's 1963 squad that won 23 games and featured All-America guard Rod Thorn and future college coach Gale Catlett.
Quertinmont's best season at WVU came during his senior year in 1965 when he averaged 14.5 points per game, including scoring a career-high 32 points against Duke in a 20-point loss to the Blue Devils.
"He once told me all he ever wanted to do was to go to West Virginia," Jay Jacobs, former WVU player, current radio analyst and longtime friend, recalled. "He was a good shooter and he usually made them when he was open."
He also had outstanding games against George Washington (30 points), Davidson (25), Syracuse (25) and Virginia Tech (24) that season.
The Mountaineers upset their way through the Southern Conference Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a .500 record. That was King's final season at WVU before moving on to take the Purdue job.
Following graduation, Quertinmont continued to remain involved with his alma mater as owner and operator of Point Marion Ford. He was part of the group that started the Mountaineer Wheels Club in the mid-1970s to provide automobiles for West Virginia University coaches.
"Buddy and Lyle Horton started the wheels club and Buddy was around a bunch when I played," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "Buddy has kind of looked after guys when they graduated and he's just been great for the University."
"Buddy was just tremendous," Jacobs added. "He gave everything he had to the University from the time he became a player all the way through. His main thing was keeping in touch with all of the former players and all those head coaches he had close relationships with through the years."
He was an avid supporter of the WVU Letterman's Club and later served as president of the WVU Varsity Club.
Most recently, Quertinmont was a member of West Virginia University's Sports Hall of Fame Committee.
"It's great to have former players involved that understand a little bit better what it is and it's always great to have someone like Buddy to kind of bridge the eras," Huggins said.
Quertinmont was inducted into the Fayette County (Pennsylvania) Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
His daughter, Lori, was a four-year letterwinner in women's basketball for the Mountaineers and was one of the key members of West Virginia's NCAA Tournament team in 1992.
Quertinmont is also survived by his wife, Brenda, and son Buddy Jr,. who played college basketball at Washington & Jefferson.
The Quertinmonts have three grandchildren: Jacob, Maggie and Will.
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