Jerry West's impact on his home state of West Virginia runs deep

Jerry West left West Virginia decades ago. He never left his home state behind.

For years, he quietly gave significant sums of money to his alma mater, West Virginia University. He always spoke with pride about where he came from, how the small-town roots shaped who he was even as he became a basketball icon. When asked to go home for various events, he tried to oblige.

“Jerry West was extremely proud of being a West Virginian,” longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn, like West a native of West Virginia and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, said Wednesday. “And he never lost that.”

West died on Wednesday at 86, a day that his alma mater called “the day everyone in West Virginia has always dreaded.” Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday that he relished all the time he spent with West, whether they were at public events or in private, going turkey hunting or fishing together.