RIP Jerry West

[Obliviax]

one of the true greats!

Jerry West Dead At 86

NBA legend Jerry West -- the inspiration behind the league's iconic logo -- has sadly died.

www.tmz.com

 

[royboy]

Zeke from Cabin Creek.

What an amazing journey. His wiki bio is worth reading.

Jerry West - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Monty2007]

RIP indeed to one of the greats.

Just imagine what he could do in today's NBA with 3 pointer and non physical style of play.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Zeke from Cabin Creek.

What an amazing journey. His wiki bio is worth reading.

Jerry West - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

West was born into a poor household in Chelyan, West Virginia, on May 28, 1938.[7][8][9] He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician.[10] West's father physically abused him, and West has stated that for a time he slept with a loaded shotgun under his bed out of fear that he might have to kill his father in self-defense.[11]

West was an outgoing and aggressive child in his youth. However, in 1951 his older brother, David, was killed in action in the Korean War, and the trauma turned West into a shy and introverted boy.[9][12] He was so small, frail, and weak that he needed many vitamin injections from his doctor and was kept apart from children's sports, to prevent him from getting seriously injured.[9]Growing up, West spent his days hunting and fishing, but his main activity was shooting at a basketball hoop that a neighbor had nailed to his storage shed. West spent days shooting baskets from every possible angle, ignoring mud and snow in the backyard, as well as his mother's whippings when he came home hours late for dinner.[9]

 

[Obliviax]

West was born into a poor household in Chelyan, West Virginia, on May 28, 1938.[7][8][9] He was the fifth of six children of Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician.[10] West's father physically abused him, and West has stated that for a time he slept with a loaded shotgun under his bed out of fear that he might have to kill his father in self-defense.[11]

West was an outgoing and aggressive child in his youth. However, in 1951 his older brother, David, was killed in action in the Korean War, and the trauma turned West into a shy and introverted boy.[9][12] He was so small, frail, and weak that he needed many vitamin injections from his doctor and was kept apart from children's sports, to prevent him from getting seriously injured.[9]Growing up, West spent his days hunting and fishing, but his main activity was shooting at a basketball hoop that a neighbor had nailed to his storage shed. West spent days shooting baskets from every possible angle, ignoring mud and snow in the backyard, as well as his mother's whippings when he came home hours late for dinner.[9]

I am reminded of an episode of The White Shadow which exemplified the power of sports. The coach, after winning the city championship, was being courted by a major university to end high school coaching and get a big payday. He was reluctant but the money was massive. As he was about to accept, one of the seniors on the outgoing team was shot and killed. The coach puts off the decision, actually is negotiating it, while the team mourned. After the funeral, coach is driving home and he sees the slain kid's brother shooting hoops in some alley or whatever far from his home. Coach stops and gives the kid a ride home. Upon questioning, the kid says the reason why he loves basketball is that he can just concentrate on "putting the ball through the hoop". That it makes all the pain go away while he just concentrates on putting the ball through the hoop. Then the kid says that he can't wait to play for coach because his brother loved it so much. The White Shadow goes home and calls the university to say he's not coming. he's going to stay a high school coach.

Your post and the coach of UConn turning down the lakers offer seem connected somehow.

 

[Jerry]

RIP indeed to one of the greats.

Just imagine what he could do in today's NBA with 3 pointer and non physical style of play.

Great player...class act in every way...rightly an NBA all-timer.

But if you could somehow transplant him into the game today, he might not make a roster.

I remember the game back in those days...loved it...but when you watch the videos now, decades later, what strikes you is how the players were on average not nearly as fast, big, or athletic as those who play today.

Heart and character...hell yeah. They had that. But that only takes you so far.

It's the same with football. I loved (and still love) the Lombardi Packers, but if you could magically put them on the field against a modern NFL team...blowout city.

Not their fault. It's just the reality that the game has gotten so much faster and the people playing it so much bigger and more athletic.

This is why you have to measure greatness, whether in teams or players, against the contemporaries of their own time. It's why West deserves his place in the league's Hall of Fame. And also why the 1960s Packers deserve the title of greatest team of all time...in my view at least.

As for Lombardi, greatest coach ever. And he would remain so today if you put him on the same field. Some things don't change...human nature and psychology high among them.

 

[lurkerlion]

Great player...class act in every way...rightly an NBA all-timer.

But if you could somehow transplant him into the game today, he might not make a roster.

I remember the game back in those days...loved it...but when you watch the videos now, decades later, what strikes you is how the players were on average not nearly as fast, big, or athletic as those who play today.

Heart and character...hell yeah. They had that. But that only takes you so far.

It's the same with football. I loved (and still love) the Lombardi Packers, but if you could magically put them on the field against a modern NFL team...blowout city.

Not their fault. It's just the reality that the game has gotten so much faster and the people playing it so much bigger and more athletic.

This is why you have to measure greatness, whether in teams or players, against the contemporaries of their own time. It's why West deserves his place in the league's Hall of Fame. And also why the 1960s Packers deserve the title of greatest team of all time...in my view at least.

As for Lombardi, greatest coach ever. And he would remain so today if you put him on the same field. Some things don't change...human nature and psychology high among them.

But the 2 best players are probably Jokic and Doncic, the least athletic players in the league. They thrive by slowing the game down. Doncic talks about his slow speed drives where the defender flies by helplessly.

West may have been able to compete or even dominate. That is why these arguments entertain.

 

[Ward Hog]

Great player...class act in every way...rightly an NBA all-timer.

But if you could somehow transplant him into the game today, he might not make a roster.

I remember the game back in those days...loved it...but when you watch the videos now, decades later, what strikes you is how the players were on average not nearly as fast, big, or athletic as those who play today.

Heart and character...hell yeah. They had that. But that only takes you so far.

It's the same with football. I loved (and still love) the Lombardi Packers, but if you could magically put them on the field against a modern NFL team...blowout city.

Not their fault. It's just the reality that the game has gotten so much faster and the people playing it so much bigger and more athletic.

This is why you have to measure greatness, whether in teams or players, against the contemporaries of their own time. It's why West deserves his place in the league's Hall of Fame. And also why the 1960s Packers deserve the title of greatest team of all time...in my view at least.

As for Lombardi, greatest coach ever. And he would remain so today if you put him on the same field. Some things don't change...human nature and psychology high among them.

West was a superb athlete with tremendous quickness and jumping ability. He also knew positional basketball. He'd be a superstar whenever he played.

 

[PSUPride1]

Great player...class act in every way...rightly an NBA all-timer.

But if you could somehow transplant him into the game today, he might not make a roster.

I remember the game back in those days...loved it...but when you watch the videos now, decades later, what strikes you is how the players were on average not nearly as fast, big, or athletic as those who play today.

Heart and character...hell yeah. They had that. But that only takes you so far.

It's the same with football. I loved (and still love) the Lombardi Packers, but if you could magically put them on the field against a modern NFL team...blowout city.

Not their fault. It's just the reality that the game has gotten so much faster and the people playing it so much bigger and more athletic.

This is why you have to measure greatness, whether in teams or players, against the contemporaries of their own time. It's why West deserves his place in the league's Hall of Fame. And also why the 1960s Packers deserve the title of greatest team of all time...in my view at least.

As for Lombardi, greatest coach ever. And he would remain so today if you put him on the same field. Some things don't change...human nature and psychology high among them.

Not sure. If those guys had modern training supplements and programs they'd probably be more than competitive.

 

[87 Penn St8]

He also helped build some of the great Laker teams that this self- respecting 76ers fan hated. I even rooted for the Celtics against those Showtime teams.

As a kid I was gifted an old school black and white 8×10 autographed photo of West from an appearance at The Seattle Sports Club from cousins in The Emerald City.

As an adult I framed it with an early 70s Topps NBA Leaders basketball card that had West, Lenny Wilkens and Tiny Archibald (must've been assists). It now hangs in my classroom.

Was happy for him when he spurned the Lakers and got to run the show in Memphis.

RIP

 

[Jerry]

West was a superb athlete with tremendous quickness and jumping ability. He also knew positional basketball. He'd be a superstar whenever he played.

You could be right. It's one of those things that can't be proven. I'm talking about magically plopping the very same Jerry West from 60 years ago into the league today.

I've watched some old tapes from that time, the mid-1960s...and to me it doesn't look like the same game...not played at the same speed with the same athleticism.

I saw somebody make a similar point by using as an example the winning time for the 1964 Olympic gold medal 100M freestyle swim: 53.4 seconds. The guy said high-level 13-year olds nowadays can do it in 50 seconds and change.

No disrespect intended to Jerry West. He's an all-timer and earned his status as one of the game's legends. I mean, he's the freakin' league logo for crying out loud.

 

[bdgan]

You could be right. It's one of those things that can't be proven. I'm talking about magically plopping the very same Jerry West from 60 years ago into the league today.

I've watched some old tapes from that time, the mid-1960s...and to me it doesn't look like the same game...not played at the same speed with the same athleticism.

I saw somebody make a similar point by using as an example the winning time for the 1964 Olympic gold medal 100M freestyle swim: 53.4 seconds. The guy said high-level 13-year olds nowadays can do it in 50 seconds and change.

No disrespect intended to Jerry West. He's an all-timer and earned his status as one of the game's legends. I mean, he's the freakin' league logo for crying out loud.

I think the biggest difference in the NBA today vs 30+ years ago is the size and shooting ability of the guards. West was 6'2" and it would be difficult for him to guard today's bigger players. Guys like 6'8" Doncic could take 3 pt shots right over the top. There were always big C/F like Chamberlain & Russell but the guards weren't that tall. Guys like Calvin Murphy simply couldn't defend in today's game and it has nothing to do with athleticism.

That said, I think it's unfair to compare players from different eras. The game has changed so much.

 

[Obliviax]

I think the biggest difference in the NBA today vs 30+ years ago is the size and shooting ability of the guards. West was 6'2" and it would be difficult for him to guard today's bigger players. Guys like 6'8" Doncic could take 3 pt shots right over the top. There were always big C/F like Chamberlain & Russell but the guards weren't that tall. Guys like Calvin Murphy simply couldn't defend in today's game and it has nothing to do with athleticism.

That said, I think it's unfair to compare players from different eras. The game has changed so much.

So true. Remember that Jack Lambert played middle linebacker for the Steelers at 212 lbs. Mike Webster Center at 245. Those guys wouldn't see a football field today at those positions. Now, given what we know, Lambert would have played at 240 and Webster 300 with today's nutrition and bodybuilding. At the time, free weights were the way to lift and build muscle. Nautilus machines came out later (Lambert was an early investor and made a ton of money). That began the technique of targeting muscle groupings to gain strength and weight.

My point is that this is just sports in general and is not limited to basketball or football.

 

[LemonEars]

one of the true greats!

Jerry West Dead At 86

NBA legend Jerry West -- the inspiration behind the league's iconic logo -- has sadly died.

www.tmz.com

First Bill Walton. Now Jerry West. A sad time for long time basketball fans.

 

[Obliviax]

First Bill Walton. Now Jerry West. A sad time for long time basketball fans.

Yeah....two GIANTS when you consider their on-court AND post-playing careers. It is hard to think of more impactful people to the NBA, overall.

 

[Lion_Backer]

Great player...class act in every way...rightly an NBA all-timer.

But if you could somehow transplant him into the game today, he might not make a roster.

I remember the game back in those days...loved it...but when you watch the videos now, decades later, what strikes you is how the players were on average not nearly as fast, big, or athletic as those who play today.

Heart and character...hell yeah. They had that. But that only takes you so far.

It's the same with football. I loved (and still love) the Lombardi Packers, but if you could magically put them on the field against a modern NFL team...blowout city.

Not their fault. It's just the reality that the game has gotten so much faster and the people playing it so much bigger and more athletic.

This is why you have to measure greatness, whether in teams or players, against the contemporaries of their own time. It's why West deserves his place in the league's Hall of Fame. And also why the 1960s Packers deserve the title of greatest team of all time...in my view at least.

As for Lombardi, greatest coach ever. And he would remain so today if you put him on the same field. Some things don't change...human nature and psychology high among them.

I understand the point that you are trying to make. But IMHO you're making a static analysis of an evolutionary product. I believe that the players from the 1960's and 70's, if born into today's society, would be proportionally sized to the players that they competed against in their respective eras.

But what if you transported today's players back to that era. Sans Jerry West, who had what many consider to be the perfect form on your jump shot, everyone was a 'chucker' of sorts (think George Gervin).

Many of the greatest players of that era for various reasons never played in college or professionally. When Kareem retired he was asked who was the greatest player that he ever played against? His answer: "It would have to be Goat, Earl 'the Goat' Manigault." The Goat played during the basketball revolution of New York City in the 1960s.

“The Goat” had a tough time with drugs starting with his expulsion from high school for smoking marijuana. He finished high school at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, averaging 31 points and 13 rebounds per game. Magnigut received recruiting letters from North Carolina, Duke, Indiana and hundreds of other college basketball programs. He ended up choosing a historically black college where he only lasted one semester. At 6’1 Magnigut had ridiculous leaping ability, he dunked on some of the NBA’s best shot blockers including Jabbar, Connie Hawkins and Willis Reed. “He reminded me a lot of David Thompson,” says Jabbar. He could really explode above the rim.”

Of course he had a signature dunk, the double dunk. He allegedly would dunk the ball, catch it with his left hand, switch it to the right hand, and jam it back through. He showcased his leaping ability by pulling dollar bills off the top of the backboard to win bets around New York. Devoted much of his jumping ability to the fact that he wore ankle weights for much of his youth. Manigault started the Goat Tournament, a summer tourney that would feature NBA stars such as Bernard King and Mario Elie. Eventually he developed a heroin addiction and faced jail time. He died in 1998 in his hometown of New York City.

How would today's players work at actually inventing the game that they have an opportunity to continue to perfect without the benefit of watching others play on TV? And what if they had to actually invent the drills that the great players from that era helped invent and that they used to become more proficient players. The Mikan Drill, the Jerry West Drill, etc.

I don't believe that there are any guys currently playing streetball in our country right now that would be able to not only play with bit dominate today's NBA players. Not true back in the day. There were players from that era who turned down professional contracts because they had more lucrative 'businesses' in their communities.

Streetball Legends documents some of the all time greats that no one has ever heard of from that era.

 

[Jerry]

I understand the point that you are trying to make. But IMHO you're making a static analysis of an evolutionary product. I believe that the players from the 1960's and 70's, if born into today's society, would be proportionally sized to the players that they competed against in their respective eras.

But what if you transported today's players back to that era. Sans Jerry West, who had what many consider to be the perfect form on your jump shot, everyone was a 'chucker' of sorts (think George Gervin).

Many of the greatest players of that era for various reasons never played in college or professionally. When Kareem retired he was asked who was the greatest player that he ever played against? His answer: "It would have to be Goat, Earl 'the Goat' Manigault." The Goat played during the basketball revolution of New York City in the 1960s.

“The Goat” had a tough time with drugs starting with his expulsion from high school for smoking marijuana. He finished high school at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, averaging 31 points and 13 rebounds per game. Magnigut received recruiting letters from North Carolina, Duke, Indiana and hundreds of other college basketball programs. He ended up choosing a historically black college where he only lasted one semester. At 6’1 Magnigut had ridiculous leaping ability, he dunked on some of the NBA’s best shot blockers including Jabbar, Connie Hawkins and Willis Reed. “He reminded me a lot of David Thompson,” says Jabbar. He could really explode above the rim.”

Of course he had a signature dunk, the double dunk. He allegedly would dunk the ball, catch it with his left hand, switch it to the right hand, and jam it back through. He showcased his leaping ability by pulling dollar bills off the top of the backboard to win bets around New York. Devoted much of his jumping ability to the fact that he wore ankle weights for much of his youth. Manigault started the Goat Tournament, a summer tourney that would feature NBA stars such as Bernard King and Mario Elie. Eventually he developed a heroin addiction and faced jail time. He died in 1998 in his hometown of New York City.

How would today's players work at actually inventing the game that they have an opportunity to continue to perfect without the benefit of watching others play on TV? And what if they had to actually invent the drills that the great players from that era helped invent and that they used to become more proficient players. The Mikan Drill, the Jerry West Drill, etc.

I don't believe that there are any guys currently playing streetball in our country right now that would be able to not only play with bit dominate today's NBA players. Not true back in the day. There were players from that era who turned down professional contracts because they had more lucrative 'businesses' in their communities.

Streetball Legends documents some of the all time greats that no one has ever heard of from that era.

Points nicely made...thanks.

 

[dailybuck777]

I was in Southern California in the late '60s and , trust me, he could play in the NBA. Not only was he a great scorer, in his top years he averaged about eight rebounds a game, 6.7 assists, and was all league in defense. If he played with a three-point line, he would obviously put more of a focus on his long range shooting, which was very good anyway. There is a place for Kyrie Irving in the NBA and there would certainly be a place for Jerry West.

In an interview on YouTube, he stated that he was six four and a half and there's a picture of him standing next to Kobe Bryant and he is close to Kobe's height.

 

[fcburd]

Remember attending a special PSU home game (as a freshman... I was then on the freshmen team) between Penn State and WVU, featuring Jerry West. The year was either '56 or '57. The game was outstanding, very close.. The West Virginia warm-up was like watching the Globetrotters with a flashy gold and blue ball and finished off with a resounding dunk by their huge center(whose name I cannot recall). The game itself was extremely close with West dominating on offense , but State also played played very well and the outcome was not decided until the last minute. Rec Hall was packed and the atmosphere was awesome. It has remained one of my all-time favorite Penn State hoops games, and West was always one of my favorite non-PSU players.

 

[RCS-PSU70]

Remember attending a special PSU home game (as a freshman... I was then on the freshmen team) between Penn State and WVU, featuring Jerry West. The year was either '56 or '57. The game was outstanding, very close.. The West Virginia warm-up was like watching the Globetrotters with a flashy gold and blue ball and finished off with a resounding dunk by their huge center(whose name I cannot recall). The game itself was extremely close with West dominating on offense , but State also played played very well and the outcome was not decided until the last minute. Rec Hall was packed and the atmosphere was awesome. It has remained one of my all-time favorite Penn State hoops games, and West was always one of my favorite non-PSU players.

 

[RCS-PSU70]

So you left us hanging, you won that PSU/WVU battle?

 

[bdroc]

Remember attending a special PSU home game (as a freshman... I was then on the freshmen team)

I remember the freshman teams but from 1967-1976 dunking was a technical foul. Some guys would do it anyway if the game wasn't close but it really ticked off the coach.

 

[fcburd]

Game was a real nail-biter, but West Virginia won. Also..Freshman were not allowed to play varsity level and did not even play any freshman games with other schools during the Fall semester. And, the dunk was the finishing touch during warm-up.

 

[The Spin Meister]

A great farewell by a West Virginia writer. Great quotes from players znd friends.

West Virginians react with fondess to the passing of West

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — At the risk of being looked upon as being a bit too dramatic, the outpouring of love from West Virginians and basketball fans toward Jerry West upon his death at 86 on Wednesday reminds one of the words of the great poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who captured the feeling of...

www.reviewonline.com