West Virginia Mountaineers commemorate Jerry West with jersey patch

As you all probably know, the NBA legend (and inspiration for the NBA logo) passed away this past June 12th. Much has rightly been made of his enormous contributions to the NBA, both during and after his playing days.

The Los Angeles Lakers, for whom West played, will honor West this season by wearing a commemorative No. 44 ribbon on their jerseys.

But West was already a star before he ever played a minute of basketball in the NBA. West was born and raised in West Virginia. He was a standout high school basketball player, and although more than 60 universities showed interest in him, he decided to stay in West Virginia and attended West Virginia University (WVU).

West played for the Mountaineers for four seasons. According to Wikipedia

In his first year (1956–57), West was a member of the WVU freshman squad that posted a perfect record of 17 consecutive wins over the course of the season. … In his first year of college under head coach Fred Schaus, West scored 17.8 points per game and averaged 11.1 rebounds; He also started all 28 games, shooting 49.6% from the field and 73.2% from the free throw line. These performances earned him numerous honors, including being named to the All-American Third Team, 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-America honors. The Mountaineers went 26-2 that year and ended the season with a loss to Manhattan College in the postseason tournament game.

In his junior year (1958-59), West scored 26.6 points per game and grabbed 12.3 rebounds per game. He set the NCAA five-game tournament record of 160 points (32 points per game) and led all scorers and rebounders in every game at West Virginia, including 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 71-70 loss to California in Final. West was named the Most Outstanding Player of this year's Final Four. Other honors included All-America, Southern Conference Tournament MVP, and Southern Conference Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. He was also named a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Pan American Games basketball team.

In his final college season (1959–60), West posted several career highs, including 29.3 points per game, 134 season assists, 16.5 rebounds per game, and a shooting average of 50.4% from the field and 76.6% from the field to the free throw line. He was again honored with several awards: an All-America selection and being named Southern Conference MVP. West's best performance was a game against Virginia in which he grabbed 16 rebounds and scored 40 points. Additionally, he had 30 double-doubles and fifteen 30-point games this past year. In his college career, West totaled 2,309 points and 1,240 rebounds. He averaged 24.8 points per game and 13.3 rebounds.(19) As of 2011, West holds 12 all-time WVU records. West and Oscar Robertson were co-captains of the United States men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

In addition to all of these accolades, West was honored by WVU with an impressive statue that stands in front of the West Virginia University Coliseum.

Therefore, it is only fitting that the Mountaineers commemorate West's career at WVU by having the Mountaineers wear a West patch on their jerseys for the 2024-25 season. The patch is a circle in WVU blue with gold lettering. “WEST” is written above number 44.

The patch is worn above the maker's mark at the top right of the chest.

The team put together a short video showing patch placement and patch sewing:

🪡🧵 pic.twitter.com/4rg6ZW7wZH

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) October 9, 2024

West was obviously an important figure for the Mountaineers and obviously he was popular with the university. So it's only fitting that the team honors his memory in this way.

West probably also has a unique point of difference in sports when it comes to uniforms. His name was on it front of his jersey, both in West Virginia And in the NBA, with his selection to the NBA All-Star team representing the West(ern) Conference.

RIP Mr. West. They will be fondly remembered and generations of young people may one day ask themselves, “Who is that on the NBA logo?” It is Jerry West. Mr Clutch.