Jerry West - West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia Mountaineers

After graduating from high school in 1956, more than 60 universities showed interest in West, and he eventually chose to attend West Virginia University (WVU), located in Morgantown. In his freshman year (1956–57), West was a member of the WVU freshman squad that achieved a perfect record of 17 wins without a loss over the course of the season; other team members included Jay Jacobs and Willie Akers. In his first varsity year under head coach Fred Schaus, West scored 17.8 points per game and averaged 11.1 rebounds; he also started in all 28 games while shooting 49.6% from the field and 73.2% from the free throw line. These performances earned him a multitude of honors, among them an All-American Third Team call-up; First Team All-Southern Conference; Southern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Award and First Team honors; Chuck Taylor-Converse Second-team All-American honors; and Associated Press and United Press International Third-team All-American honors. The Mountaineers went 26–2 that year, ending the season with a loss to Manhattan College in post-season tournament play.

During his junior year (1958–59), West scored 26.6 points per game and grabbed 12.3 rebounds per game. He tied the NCAA five-game tournament record of 160 points (32.0 points per game) and led all scorers and rebounders in every West Virginia game, including getting 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 71–70 loss to California in the final. West was named Most Outstanding Player of that year's Final Four. Further awards were All-American, Southern Conference Tournament MVP and Southern Conference Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. He was also named to be a member of the U.S. Pan American Games basketball team which won the gold medal. West demonstrated his tenacity to the game in a match against the Kentucky Wildcats; an incident in the game broke his nose, but he continued playing despite intense pain and having to breathe through his mouth. He scored 19 points in the second-half, leading WVU to an upset victory.

In his final collegiate season (1959–60) West averaged several career highs, such as scoring 29.3 points per game, a 134 season-assists, 16.5 rebounds per game, and a shooting average of 50.4% from the field, 76.6% from the free throw line. He was honored again with several awards: a call-up to the All-American selection, and being voted Southern Conference MVP. West's best performance was a game against Virginia, in which he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 40 points. Moreover, during that final year, he had 30 double-doubles and fifteen 30-point games. In his collegiate career, West totaled 2,309 points and 1,240 rebounds. He averaged 24.8 points per game and 13.3 rebounds. As of 2011, West holds 12 WVU all-time records. Along with Oscar Robertson, West co-captained the U.S. men's basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal.