Longtime friend, others remember basketball legend Jerry West

He was a hero, inspiration and friend to many.

And in a world where the word “legend” is often overused, Jerry West was all of the above and a legendary basketball player from Chelyan, W.Va., who would go on to star in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before becoming one of the league’s most highly regarded front-office executives.

West, one of the game’s most revered figures and, many say, the model for the NBA logo, died on Wednesday at the age of 86, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Clippers.

An East Bank High School classmate remembered West fondly on Wednesday.

“I was a Jerry West fan from the very beginning,” said Nancy Pat Maloney. “I graduated with him from high school in 1956.

“We were good friends. I’m very sad. I’ve lost one of my closest friends.”

Maloney recalled West being “very quiet” while at East Bank High, which was located in eastern Kanawha County before it closed and merged with DuPont High to form Riverside in 1999. “He started playing basketball and became very famous.”

In his senior year, he averaged 32.2 points per game and captained the all-state team, guiding the Pioneers to the state basketball championship before embarking on a career that included major success at West Virginia University, winning a gold medal in the Olympic Games and becoming a perennial all-star in a 14-year career with the NBA as a bona fide star of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hanging up his lakers’ jersey after the 1973-74 season, he stepped into the Lakers’ head coaching job for three years, turned to scouting after that and then became the team’s general manager in 1982.

“To me, he’s always been my hero, from school to the last time I saw him and talked to him,” Maloney said.

Maloney is the former president of the still-active East Bank High School Alumni Association, and she said West supported the organization financially over the years.

The association welcomed West back to the Kanawha Valley on Sept. 26, 2009, for the annual East Bank High Reunion.

“We kept trying to get him to come back to East Bank as our alumnus of the year,” she said.

West was finally able to work it out in 2009 and mingled with around 800 people at the reunion at the Charleston Civic Center while accepting the alumni honor, Maloney said.

“I was so tickled when he came here to be alumnus of the year,” she said, adding that West didn’t get much chance to sit down that day because of all of the attention, hand shakes and small conversations he attracted.

His East Bank legacy “meant a whole lot to most everybody,” said Maloney, who traveled with a friend to Morgantown to watch the Pioneers defeat Morgantown, 71-58, in the 1956 state championship game. She also recalled the town being renamed West Bank for a day “in a big blowout” ceremony in honor of the Pioneers’ exploits.

The news of West’s passing was hard to take, Maloney said. “I was very sad, and I cried of course, because he’s been my friend ever since we went to East Bank.

“He is a friend to everybody. I’m just thankful to be able to call him my friend. I just know it really hurt me this morning.”

She ended with a plea to the powers-that-be in the NBA.

“Please don’t change that basketball logo.”

West Virginia University President Gordon Gee and Wren Baker, university vice president and director of athletics, both issued statements on Wednesday following West’s passing.

“As the basketball world mourns the man known simply as ‘The Logo,’ I join all West Virginians and members of the West Virginia University family in remembering a true legend,” Gee said via the university. “There will never be another Jerry West.

“From his time as a record-breaking basketball player in the WVU Field House to his success in the front offices of some of the most respected sports franchises in America, Jerry brought his unique abilities, innovative spirit and quiet strength — the very best of what it means to be a Mountaineer,” Gee said. “He was a dear friend and steadfast supporter of West Virginia University, and I send my sincerest condolences to his wife Karen and the entire West family.”

“Today is one of the saddest days ever for West Virginia University and the state of West Virginia,” Baker’s statement read. “Mountaineer hearts all over the world are broken with the passing of the great Jerry West.

“A true gentlemen, one of the greatest players and executives the NBA has ever seen and certainly the most famous West Virginia Mountaineer of all time, he will be remembered forever by the sports world, and this university and its fans owe him a great debt of gratitude for a lifetime of achievement, generosity and loving memories.”

“Gayle and I are devastated to learn of the passing of our dear, dear friend, Jerry West,” U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., said in a statement. “When you think of basketball, you think of Jerry West, and it is only fitting his legacy has been forever commemorated in the organization’s logo.

“Jerry was a pillar of West Virginia culture and never forgot his roots. To his core, Jerry was a West Virginian with an unbeatable work ethic and resilience like no other.”

He was a great friend and a world-class representative for both the NBA and for West Virginia. Our hearts and prayers are with his wife, Karen, his sons, Ryan, Jonnie, Mark, David and Michael, and all of his loved ones as they mourn this tremendous loss.”

In remarks during a briefing Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice remembered West for his basketball talent, his friendship and his love of the outdoors, according to MetroNews.

“We celebrate the life of a gentleman that we lost — and a hero in every way in West Virginia, basically in many ways, what we stand for — Jerry West,” Justice said in the MetroNews report.

Justice also recounted outdoor outings with West, and he recalled a recent text exchange with him, according to MetroNews.

West, a standout for the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers team that captured the NBA championship that year, was enshrined in the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 1979. Below is his biography courtesy of the West Virginia Sports Writers Association website, www.wvswa.org:

“Born in Chelyan on May 28, 1938, West is considered by many the greatest basketball player ever to play in West Virginia. He was an All-State player while leading East Bank High to a state title in 1956, an All-American at West Virginia University, a starter on the 1960 United States Olympic team, and All-NBA for most of his 14 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch” for his ability to produce under pressure and led WVU to the NCAA championship game in 1959, losing by one point to California. He won an Olympic Gold Medal at the games in Rome.

“He helped the Lakers win a record 33 consecutive games and the NBA title in 1972. After retiring as a player, West coached the Lakers for three years before becoming general manager. He later served in the front office of the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.

On the college and pro levels, he scored 31,958 points in 1,178 games in 17 seasons for a 27.1 average. At WVU, his three-season 93-game total of 2,309 points (24.8 average). In 14 regular seasons with the Lakers, he scored 25,192 points in 932 games (27.0). In 153 playoff games in 13 seasons, he scored 4,457 points (29.1).

“He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall with the Jerry West Award named in his honor. Inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame (1990). The NBA logo is modeled after a West photo, and he earned a spot on the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team picked in 1996. WVU’s first retired basketball jersey (No. 44) and bronze statue outside the WVU Coliseum plus West memorabilia displays inside the Coliseum honor him.”

In a 1998 phone interview with The Montgomery Herald, West said going to WVU was “one of the most important decisions of my life,” although he said he didn’t realize it at the time. “Throughout my career, the people from the state have shown an incredible amount of respect and loyalty to me.”

During that same interview, he touched on several other topics, including praising “exceptional” Lakers player Kobe Bryant, saying, “He’s not your typical 19-year-old kid.”

On being chosen to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, West said in 1998, “To be real candid, I don’t think of myself that way. I never placed myself on a pedestal. I appreciate the fact that I had the ability to succeed, but you don’t achieve anything in this game without goals and hard work.”

And, West said he wasn’t much different then than he was while growing up.

“I really haven’t changed that much. I’m still pretty quiet and simple. I may talk a little differently or a little more, but I’m still basically the same person.”