A Basketball Icon: There Will Never Be Another Jerry West
I started my day as usual, arriving at work a bit after 9 am, checking social media to ensure my reputation remained intact, and contemplating an early afternoon stroll with my dog. That was the plan until my boss, Michael Fragale, walked into my office with startling news: Jerry West had just died.
"Better get to work," he said.
It felt like a basketball had just smashed through my front window.
As the person tasked with writing obituaries for the department, I often have some materials prepared for the inevitable passing of school legends. This was the case with Hot Rod Hundley and Sam Huff, both of whom had been in declining health.
But Jerry West? The man who embodied energy, vitality, and vigor?
Peter Pans don't die. Until they do.
Where do you begin with someone who achieved so much? What do you include, and what do you leave out?
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In a short amount of time, it's impossible to capture all of Jerry West's accomplishments over his 86 well-lived years.
How do you sum up his impact on the people of this great state and the love he inspired in West Virginia University fans?
Who do you talk to when he meant so much to everyone?
When you're unsure where to start, the beginning is usually the best place. For me, that beginning is a file cabinet filled with interviews I've conducted over the years, including several with West. My interviews with him include about half a dozen transcribed phone calls, each lasting 20 to 30 minutes.
Some people give you 10 or 15 minutes before their attention fades and they want to move on. I've experienced that even with less prominent figures.
But not Jerry.
He always took the time to answer any questions I had, especially about West Virginia, West Virginia University, and his Mountaineer basketball teammates. I quickly learned the best way to engage Jerry was to ask about his dear friend Willie Akers or his classmates.
I once asked him why there were so many outstanding basketball players in West Virginia in the mid-1950s when he was at East Bank High.
I recounted a story the late Eddie Barrett told me about Virginia Tech coach Chuck Noe. Noe noticed high school game scores in Virginia were in the 40s and 50s, while West Virginia scores were in the 80s and 90s, and decided he wanted those West Virginia players.
That got Jerry talking.
"We played the Kentucky all-star team, and they were supposed to have the best players in America," he recalled. "Well, we had the better players. We played them twice and beat them twice. It was just a high-caliber group of guys in West Virginia at that time.
"Style of play was a big part of it," West explained. "I think coaches were more restrictive in some areas. Most coaches inherit their philosophy from who they played for. When I was being recruited, Maryland played a slow game. I liked that school but couldn't play that way. It wouldn't have been fun."
At the time, West Virginia coach Fred Schaus had just retired from the pros. With assistant coach George King, they were still young and athletic enough to offer pointers that other coaches couldn't.
King, who played on an NBA championship team with the Syracuse Nationals, often faced West in the old Field House.
"I developed some confidence because George King was there," West noted. "He was very experienced and smart, and I realized I could play against him. It wasn't going to be embarrassing.
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"It was a great environment for learning and engaging with people who had played at a higher level than any of us."
Team building was the key to Schaus' and King's coaching success, a lesson Jerry carried throughout his career.
The successes Jerry West later achieved with the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers as an executive had roots in those well-rounded West Virginia teams of the late 1950s.
Schaus convinced Akers he was better off being a supporting player to Jerry West at WVU than being the leading scorer at Virginia Tech or Wake Forest.
Willie's reason for joining WVU was simple: "I wanted to win."
So he teamed with Lloyd Sharrar and Bobby Joe Smith to rebound and play defense while guards Joedy Gardner, Don Vincent, Bucky Bolyard, and Ronnie Retton handled the ball. Jerry made the tough shots and rose to the occasion.
Every player on the team would knock over their grandfather to get a loose ball. They were that driven.
"We were very competitive kids," West recalled. "Just because some were fun-loving didn't mean they weren't competitive. They were great people. For someone as quiet and shy as me, it helped me come out of my shell and laugh a little, though I remained serious."
I saw Jerry's seriousness firsthand when I was part of a speaking program with him in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Jerry was promoting his new book, and I had just written: "Roll Out the Carpet." I was supposed to warm up the crowd for a half hour before he took the stage.
After sharing some funny stories, I headed back to the Green Room, where I crossed paths with Jerry. I shook his hand and greeted him casually.
He nodded but was already focused on his task. He had the concentration of a prizefighter, preparing to discuss his deeply personal and revealing book.
At that moment, I realized the difference between ordinary and elite human beings.
Jerry West was elite. He was the person West Virginians aspired to be, and he understood the weight of that responsibility.
For everyone in the Mountain State (and beyond), take time to study Jerry West's life. See how he treated others with empathy, dignity, and respect. Notice how he honored commitments and conducted himself professionally.
The blueprint for a successful life is in Jerry West's story—the successes, the failures, the good times, and the heartaches.
He embodied the values we West Virginians hold dear, making it so hard to say goodbye.
Lower your West Virginia flags until after West Virginia Day on June 20th in his honor because there will never be another Jerry West—ever.
Jerry West/Photo by Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports
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