My parents were finishing up at WVU when Jerry arrived on campus. For the first 12 years of my life, my mom would routinely tell me that she knew Jerry West from their days at WVU. She said she briefly dated Willie Bergines who was on the basketball team. Bergines was an upperclassman when Jerry arrived and apparently took him under his wing. That's how she met Jerry. I had no reason to doubt my mom's stories, but I was always a little skeptical of how well she actually knew Jerry.
Fast forward to June 1967 when NBA players ran summer basketball camps for extra income. Imagine that! My parents were taking me to Camp Wahoo near Charlottesville which was run by Jerry. So, we enter the building to register and 30 feet away is Jerry, larger than life, greeting campers. He sees us and right away he not only recognized my mom, he called her by name and they hugged briefly. Not sure what my Dad was thinking at this point.
Anyway, I got a personal introduction and was a very pleased 12 year old. That's my story but I would be remiss not to mention the benefit I got from Jerry's shooting fundamental instruction, and I also benefited from Gary McPherson's attention to defense.
Fast forward to June 1967 when NBA players ran summer basketball camps for extra income. Imagine that! My parents were taking me to Camp Wahoo near Charlottesville which was run by Jerry. So, we enter the building to register and 30 feet away is Jerry, larger than life, greeting campers. He sees us and right away he not only recognized my mom, he called her by name and they hugged briefly. Not sure what my Dad was thinking at this point.
Anyway, I got a personal introduction and was a very pleased 12 year old. That's my story but I would be remiss not to mention the benefit I got from Jerry's shooting fundamental instruction, and I also benefited from Gary McPherson's attention to defense.
