Tag: Jerry West

May 28, 1938: NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West Born in Cabin Creek

  Basketball hall of famer Jerry West was born on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938. He led East Bank High School to a state basketball championship before going on to rewrite the record books at West Virginia University. As a sophomore, his Mountaineer team finished the regular season ranked first in the nation. In 1959, he took WVU to within two points of a national championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament. After his senior season, he won a gold medal in basketball at the 1960 Olympics.

West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. He was named MVP of the league in 1972 and was the third player in NBA history to score more than 25,000 points. His playoff scoring average is still among the league’s highest. Later, as the team’s general manager, he built the Lakers’ “Showtime” dynasty of the 1980s.

The NBA logo is based on Jerry West’s silhouette, a reflection of his impact on the game. And he is widely regarded as West Virginia’s greatest athlete.

Trump: Jerry West To Get Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Donald Trump says that Jerry West, the pro basketball great, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation’s highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his outstanding career, both on and off the court,” according to the Trump Saturday night tweet.

West, a member of the basketball Hall of Fame who played guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and played college basketball at West Virginia University. No date was announced for the award for the 81-year-old West, who has also worked as a basketball executive.

Trump recently gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to golfing great Tiger Woods and plans to give one later this month to Arthur Laffer, the economist known as a leading proponent of supply-side economics.

May 23, 1941: Athlete Rod Thorn Born in Princeton

Athlete Rod Thorn was born in Princeton on May 23, 1941. He was Princeton High School’s best basketball and baseball player and was heavily recruited by colleges. The straight-A student was leaning toward Duke University when the West Virginia Legislature passed an unprecedented resolution declaring him a state natural resource.

Thorn ultimately picked West Virginia University, where he wore number 44, the same as Jerry West, who’d just preceded him in Morgantown. During his senior year, the six-foot-four guard was named an All-American.

In the 1963 NBA draft, Thorn was selected by the Baltimore Bullets as the second player taken overall. In the NBA, he played for the Bullets, Detroit Pistons, St. Louis Hawks, and Seattle Supersonics. After retiring from playing, he was an assistant coach with the Sonics and New Jersey Nets and head coach of the St. Louis Spirits of the ABA. As general manager of the Chicago Bulls in 1984, he drafted Michael Jordan, who would lead that franchise to six championships.

Rod Thorn later served as an NBA executive and was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

February 10, 2010: Former WVU Coach & AD Fred Schaus Died

Former West Virginia University basketball coach Fred Schaus died in Morgantown on February 10, 2010, at age 84.

Before entering the coaching ranks, he was a star basketball player at WVU—being the first Mountaineer to score 1000 points in his career.

After five years in the NBA, he returned to WVU in 1954 to coach the most successful teams in school history. Led first by “Hot Rod” Hundley, then Jerry West, WVU made it to six straight NCAA Tournaments and lost the 1959 national title game by only a point.

In 1960, Schaus moved back to the NBA. In seven years as the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach, he won four conference titles but lost in the finals each time to Boston. In 1967, he became the Lakers’ general manager and built the team that won the 1972 NBA title.

Schaus then went back to the college ranks and coached Purdue for six years. In 1981, he returned to his alma mater to serve as WVU’s athletic director. He retired in 1989. Schaus still holds the best winning percentage of any men’s basketball coach in WVU history.

Ex-WVU, NBA Star Jerry West to Visit University

Former West Virginia and NBA star Jerry West will be at West Virginia University next week as the school dedicates a collection of his personal memorabilia.

West will be at a book signing from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday at the WVU Visitors Center.

On Monday, the university says the West Virginia Day Forum and Jerry West Collection Dedication will begin at 10 a.m. in the Milano Reading Room with the exhibit opening immediately afterward. The exhibit includes artifacts from West’s personal collection, including his NBA championship ring, trophies and uniforms.

A Jerry West website will also be launched, featuring clips from oral history interviews with West’s NBA peers through the years, including Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.

May 28, 1938: NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West Born in Cabin Creek

  Basketball hall of famer Jerry West was born on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938. He led East Bank High School to a state basketball championship before going on to rewrite the record books at West Virginia University. As a sophomore, his Mountaineer team finished the regular season ranked first in the nation. In 1959, he took WVU to within two points of a national championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament. After his senior season, he won a gold medal in basketball at the 1960 Olympics.

West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. He was named MVP of the league in 1972 and was the third player in NBA history to score more than 25,000 points. His playoff scoring average is still among the league’s highest. Later, as the team’s general manager, he built the Lakers’ “Showtime” dynasty of the 1980s.

The NBA logo is based on Jerry West’s silhouette, a reflection of his impact on the game. And he is widely regarded as West Virginia’s greatest athlete.

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