RIP Jerry West

Remember, Kobe was straight out of Lower Merion, and no one had an inkling that he’d be Kobe. The consensus was he’d probably be a decent player and ready for the league because of his dad, but West saw something else in him that meant he struck gold.

Despite that and despite Sharman getting the foundation of that Showtime team together, I still think of West most as the guy behind the curtain in the 1980s.

It was always odd when I heard to him referred to as “Grizzlies executive” and “Warriors executive.” The guy should’ve been the Lakers’ Tommy Heinsohn and never allowed to leave. Bad job by the Busses there.

 

Old age isn't like the greatest, but I did get to see Jerry West play, and those who didn't will never really understand how great he was.
PS: He had a place at the Greenbrier, his toehold in West Virginia, and 20 years ago I was on the practice tees at the same time he was. Needless to say, he striped every ball.

 

I was a Knicks fan, so of course I hated the Lakers ... and West. In a good way, though. Always feared him. Besides all his talents, he was steady as a rock and completely unflappable under pressure. Especially in the big games. He just kept coming after it, working through defenders, methodically knocking down shots. And when the big game was over, he had methodically put up 35 or 40 points again. Or maybe "only" 30 this time. He was called "Mr. Clutch," for good reason, but he was also "Mr. Cool." Never, ever saw him get rattled. Just kept chipping away.

And a great ambassador for the game, even as a player. And then as an exec.
I didn't see "Winning Time," but what a shame West was portrayed in that way.

RIP to the great Jerry West.

 

Well, it's pretty easy to cut a deal when Kobe says he won't play for the team that drafted him and will only play for the Lakers. "Decent" players don't make those Elway-esque demands.

 

I don't know which is the cooler nickname "The Logo" or "Zeke from Cabin Creek." They are both all-timers. Great player. Wondered why they seemed to throw him in for his GM work on top of his previous entry into the Naismith as a player - I mean, why not just add some words to the nameplate on the bust instead of doing a brand new "entry." But both were richly deserved.

 

"Mr. Clutch" is the most popular West nickname. Or at least was during his playing days when Chick Hearn started calling him that.

The NBA logo as we know it didn't exist until his ninth season.

 

My best friend Gary moved to Northern California from Burbank in 1972, so all he talked about during basketball season was Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor, Happy Hairston and Wilt Chamberlain. We'd shoot baskets in his driveway and I eventually nicknamed him Gary East, Mr. Klutz.

Those Warriors-Lakers games were barnburners back in the day. You had Jerry West and Rick Barry. It always seemed to come down to West making a key basket, a great assist or a steal. Or Barry making underhanded free throws for the win.

Great times. RIP, The Logo.

 

If you want to give a youngster an example of a great shooter, Jerry West clips would still top my list.

And yes, I didn't know he'd become a curmudgeon until Winning Time.

 

Collaborator on previously mentioned book was Jonathan Coleman.

 

Kobe was a mid-round pick. That draft was full of studs and even “busts” like Marbury had long careers. I don’t remember him saying he’d only play for the Lakers, although I do remember him saying he wouldn’t play in Charlotte.

 

The thing with Kobe “only wanting to play in L.A.” stems from something his agent said about never playing in Charlotte and only playing in L.A. after the trade had already been agreed to. After Kobe was picked, the trade was put in jeopardy when Vlade Divac threatened to retire if the trade went through.

 

When I was in junior college (1972-ish), the Lakers PR guy had attended our school. Our student newspaper advisor set up an interview with the PR guy and took me and our other sports writer to The Forum on a lazy afternoon with nobody around. We were in the Press Lounge talking with the PR guy, when a waiter came in with a tray of lunch from the Forum Club, which was across the hall from the Press Lounge. He set it down, and a minute later, Jerry West walked in and sat down to eat. Our jaws dropped. We were introduced, got autographs, etc.

Jerry was an unbelievable pull-up jumper. I patterned my jumper after his ... but he made them. Nobody shoots pull-up jumpers anymore.

Jerry was huge around our area on the Westside of L.A. He did lots of normal things to he was out and about frequently, people saw him and knew him.

On our staff at the Santa Monica paper, there was a neurotic female news reporter. We were all friends. She was moaning about never meeting any guys. So me and another sports writer took her to a well-known pick-up singles bar in Brentwood. When we got there, the other guy told her, "Go for it, good luck." I went to the left, he went to the right, leaving her alone. Later, I saw her talking to a couple of dweebs -- accountants or insurance salesmen types. I stopped and chatted and soon, somebody came by and said that Jerry West is in the bar. She got all excited and said we had to find our other friend to tell him. She spotted him and said, "Mike, Mike, Jerry West is here." Then she looked up and Mike was talking to Jerry West, who he had met previously. Too funny.

When Jerry was running the Lakers, he was showing up at Pepperdine basketball games. We wondered what the hell he was doing there. Pepperdine did not have anybody with NBA credentials. It turned out, he was scouting the cheerleaders and he wound up marrying one of them.

I think he was probably my first basketball hero (after several Dodgers -- Koufax, Drysdale, Wills, etc.). RIP to a legend.