By Stephen Smoot
Michael Jordan said of Jerome Allen West on the day that he passed “I always wish I could have played against him as a competitor, but the more I came to know him, I wish I’d been his teammate . . . Rest in peace, Logo.”
Jordan, like contemporaries Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, set extraordinarily high standards for teammates. One could not do much better than the man with the greatest impact on the game of basketball outside its inventor, James Naismith.
Today’s stars often hone their game on playgrounds, or for high intensity travel teams that manufacture talent and push players to reach past their potential. Yesterday’s stars, like West and Bird, often spent hours in solitude, shooting at a rusty rim, practicing moves they’d later use to mystify and crush opponents.
West started his career at East Bank High School, then became West Virginia University’s greatest competitor in any sport. After narrowly missing an NCAA title, he helped to lead the 1960 United States Olympic Team to a gold medal.
After that, “Mr. Clutch” started his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, first as a star player who redefined shooting range, routinely sinking shots that many players do not even attempt today. His hustle and drive pushed opponents to beat him with their best games, but for years found the loaded Boston Celtics standing in his team’s way for a title. Only after teaming up with former Philadelphia star Wilt Chamberlain did he get his ring.
Few remember his short tenure as head coach of the Lakers, where West led his squad over three years to nearly 60 percent of his games ending in wins, but did not advance much in the playoffs. The Lakers moved him to the front office at the opening of the Magic Johnson era, where West produced a lot of magic of his own. Meanwhile, the team hired one of the sport’s greatest coaches in Pat Riley.
West’s ability to evaluate talent and put it together ensured that the 80s featured a twin dynasty instead of more Celtic dominance. The team earned titles in 1980, 82, 85, 87, and 88. Though not present for the entire run, West’s foresight in trading standout Vlade Divac and clearing cap room to acquire Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal established a foundation for future titles and extended his impact on the team well beyond his last paycheck from the Lakers.
That is the story that everyone else talks about. Few outside of the Mountain State understand his impact here.
The bad old days of the mid to late 20th century have receded into history. Over the past 15 years, economic growth has pushed most of the state forward in development and even national and global perception.
Between the Great Depression and the 21st century, however, West Virginia suffered from a multitude of afflictions. Over reliance on the coal industry for jobs and tax revenues trapped the state in the boom and bust cycle of energy production and sales. Corruption extended its tentacles through state and local government, partly as a result of unmonitored New Deal largesse and Franklin Roosevelt’s desire to build local support at the expense of older state party leaders.
In 1960, the money funneled into state politics by John F. Kennedy’s campaign set a new low bar for corruption and election shenanigans.
Perhaps the nadir came when former governor Wally Barron and his wife were sentenced in federal court for bribing a jury foreman in 1968. Perhaps it came during mid 1980s double digit unemployment figures.
Throughout the era, reaching back into the late 1800s, the state also contended with the impact of the “hillbilly stereotype” and its resonance in national media.
Regardless of how hard of times West Virginia faced, its citizens could always turn to West as representing the best of what the state saw in itself, but few others recognized. His steely eyes and strong jaw showed strength and resilience. His drive for dominance echoed the work ethic that West Virginians take pride in. His natural ability to see what others couldn’t and rise above the competition represented what West Virginians wished to see in themselves.
Along the way, West never faltered in what some call an “old school” approach to life and basketball. Current head coach of the likely next NBA Champion Boston Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, recalled his first talk with West during his junior year as a Mountaineer player. He had played for John Belein, then the uncompromisingly successful Bobby Huggins.
“My junior year in college,” Mazzulla said, “ wasn’t living up to anyone’s standards. I got a call. It’s Jerry. A lot of expletives, but he basically told me I was a F-up and had the opportunity to be great at something. Just let me have it for like 10, 15 minutes. I thought it was one of the most impactful phone calls that I had, really in my life.”
What young folks would regard as abusive, Mazzulla knew came from caring. It echoed the tough love approach traditional in West Virginia dads since its settlement. Once again, West showed his mettle, launching Mazzulla toward not only success at WVU, but also toward a career with his former greatest rival where the sky seems to be the limit.
As the man on the NBA logo, West represents the essence of the NBA as a competitive sport, but as a West Virginian and a Mountaineer, he has meant so much more.