The biggest sports figure to ever come out of the Great State of West Virginia passed away last week. Jerry West was 86 years old and had been impactful on the game of basketball up until his passing. West had several nicknames, the Logo, Mr. Clutch, Mr. Outside, and Zeke from Cabin Creek, which helped to make him a global sports icon, but fans in the Mountain State knew about him first.
Born on May 28, 1938 in Cabin Creek, West Virginia, West had an exceptional high school career at East Bank High School. His efforts brought a multitude of scholarship offers and opportunities for the skinny, soft-spoken hoopster to get out of town before sundown. But his love for his home state took him to Morgantown and that is where the love affair became mutual.
Back in those days, freshmen had to play on the freshman squad, so his first varsity year was 1957-58. West averaged a double-double (17.8 points per game and 11.1 rebounds) and it was then that his fame started to grow.
The very next season, West guided the Mountaineers to the championship game. A heartbreaking 71 to 70 loss to California overshadowed his 28 point, 11 rebound effort. West would garner the Most Outstanding Player of that year’s Final Four award. To a player that placed winning above all else, the award was trivial. It would be the first of two similar awards for West.
He was the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers, who would then move to Los Angeles. He lit up the league for several seasons, and in 1969 West was named the NBA Finals most valuable player, even though the Lakers lost that series to the New York Knicks. He is the only player in league history to win the MVP award for the Finals from a losing team. West often openly talked about how he felt that he should not have won those awards because his teams didn’t win their respective championships.
West showed the Midas touch as a general manager, moving to Memphis in 2002. He earned his second NBA executive of the year award in 2004 and in 2007 handed off the position to Chris Wallace. Wallace, ironically, is another West Virginia product from Buckhannon.
His winning ways continued with his next stop, Golden State. West was an executive board member from 2011-2017. The Warriors claimed their fist title in 40 years in 2015. He nabbed his eighth ring as an executive in 2016-2017 and then went back to L. A., this time to work for the Clippers. He spent the remainder of his work career with the other team in Los Angeles.
West was known as being a fierce competitor, regardless of the game or the role that he played. The most impressive part of his pursuit was the way he went about it with the highest level of professionalism and class. No one lost with the level of class or won with the humility of Jerry West! He did it the right way all the way from his first day in Morgantown until his last day with the Clippers. Here’s to a true role model. Rest in peace!
That will do it for now. Until next time . . . take care and God Bless!