WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - In a stunning venue filled with celebrities, the one that overrides all others, of course, is Jerry West.
"You never know. You never know,'' West said. "But I'm happy I found basketball.''
He touched on other subjects:
On his West Virginia roots: "I've always been very proud that I was born and raised here in West Virginia. A lot of things I've learned in life were very humbling. I think humility is a word that people should try to understand more fully, and particularly how important it is to remain humble."
On his heyday as a golfer following his retirement as an NBA player: "For three years, all I did was play golf. At one time I was a plus-3 handicap. I could hit golf balls all day when I was younger. But I knew I wasn't going to get better at that point in my life. I was tired of being a bum, so I went back to work and had a different life at something I knew best.''
On the frequency of his play these days: "I hit balls almost every day. I chip and putt, but I don't play [rounds] that much. I really don't. If I play once a week, that would be a lot. I can shoot a good round. But I haven't been playing that much. I've been traveling a lot.''
On John Wooden, the late college basketball coaching great: "He was more than a basketball coach. He was a life teacher. He was one of the most remarkable men ever. He was one of the wisest men I've ever been around. Somebody once said to me: 'Would you rather be around someone wise or smart?' I said, 'Well, I don't think you can be wise unless you're smart,' and he was one of the smartest guys I've ever been around. Some of the things he said and his memory were just amazing to me. It was really a pleasure for me to know him and know him intimately. And to watch how his life changed after he stopped coaching. People gathered around him. His life transcended his basketball career, and he might have contributed as much outside of the game as he did in the game, but he will always be remembered for all the championships he won.''
On Justice: "He's a remarkable man. Every once in a while, I tell him, 'You're crazy.' But he has a vision, and he knows what he wants to do with this place. It's really thrilling to be around that 18th hole. It's sort of an amphitheater, and I think the people from West Virginia ought to thank goodness that there's a man like this in the state. He cares so much, and he's cared a lot for a long time. He doesn't let anyone know about it. I told him he's becoming a rock star. He can't hide from anybody.''
On the Prime 44 West steakhouse at The Greenbrier, which West said was first envisioned by Justice: "It was his idea," West said, smiling broadly. "It's very humbling when somebody wants to kind of build a shrine to you."
On Gov. Joe Manchin: "I enjoy being around him. He's been a great governor of West Virginia. And I'm happy that we're friends. We communicate every once in a while. I'm excited for him to see if he can be a new senator here. I hope that happens.''
Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com. Andrew Clevenger contributed to this story.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - In a stunning venue filled with celebrities, the one that overrides all others, of course, is Jerry West.
Wherever he stepped at the Greenbrier Classic this week, he found well-wishers eager to shake his hand, request an autograph and to pose with him for a picture.
West always obliged, generally with a smile, and he draped a hand on the shoulders of those who stood beside him for pictures.
His reputation for shyness and modesty still lingers - and that's undoubtedly still who he is - but at age 72 he seems comfortable in his role as an unofficial spokesman for his native state and for The Greenbrier, a place he says has shaken its once-stuffy image.
"At one time,'' he said, "I almost felt that it got to the point where this was kind of an elitist place. That's not what West Virginia is all about.''
West, a two-time basketball All-American at West Virginia University before a hall-of-fame career as a player and executive with the Los Angeles Lakers, owns a home in the area and spends three months a year here between August and October.
This year, he came back early to support the latest undertaking of his close friend, Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, and to get an up-close look at some of the world's best golfers.
More than anything, West seems to be enjoying the golf. He arrived at the practice tee shortly after dawn Friday morning to watch the PGA Tour pros prepare for another round of the Greenbrier Classic. Like the man legendary for his pursuit of perfection, West hits practice balls incessantly.
West shot a 69 recently on what he called a short course in Los Angeles and plays to a 4 handicap. He didn't take up golf until age 24 but eventually played his way to a plus-3 handicap, meaning that on average he scored three strokes below par each round.
Watching the pros hit practice balls is especially interesting for him, he said, and it's easy to imagine his brilliance as an evaluator of basketball talent going to work on golf's mechanics.
"It's a game I love to watch; I love to watch guys hit balls,'' he said. "I can go out and watch them do it all day. There are a few players I know pretty well, and I particularly think they have pretty good swings. And when they hit the ball, it sounds differently.''
But seeing the pros hit the ball effortlessly brings out the competitor in him.
"Watching these guys make me sick,'' West said. "They make it look too easy, that's for sure. To watch some of these guys putt out here breaks your heart because they hit the ball so well, and on any given week whoever putts well has a chance to win.''
Could West have enjoyed golf as much as basketball, and could he have found as much satisfaction in it?
"Oh, absolutely,'' he responded quickly. "I don't think there's any question. Golf, I think, is probably the single-most difficult sport there is. You take a golf ball and a golf club, and you say, 'Oh my gosh, there's not very much room to miss this thing.' For people who like to be by themselves, which I did, that to me would have been the greatest thing in the world because that's when you get better. The more time you spend hitting golf balls and knowing your swing, the better you get.''
Golf seems to rival basketball as West's greatest sporting love.
"It's usually you against the golf course. It's not four other guys like in my sport trying to be involved,'' said West, who owns a home at The Greenbrier. "It's just one person, and I've always admired people who have played individual sports because it takes a lot of courage, it takes a lot of skill and it takes a lot of soul searching when you're not playing very well.''
If the Chelyan native had taken up golf at a younger age, would his athletic life have been different?
"You never know. You never know,'' West said. "But I'm happy I found basketball.''
He touched on other subjects:
On his West Virginia roots: "I've always been very proud that I was born and raised here in West Virginia. A lot of things I've learned in life were very humbling. I think humility is a word that people should try to understand more fully, and particularly how important it is to remain humble."
On his heyday as a golfer following his retirement as an NBA player: "For three years, all I did was play golf. At one time I was a plus-3 handicap. I could hit golf balls all day when I was younger. But I knew I wasn't going to get better at that point in my life. I was tired of being a bum, so I went back to work and had a different life at something I knew best.''
On the frequency of his play these days: "I hit balls almost every day. I chip and putt, but I don't play [rounds] that much. I really don't. If I play once a week, that would be a lot. I can shoot a good round. But I haven't been playing that much. I've been traveling a lot.''
On John Wooden, the late college basketball coaching great: "He was more than a basketball coach. He was a life teacher. He was one of the most remarkable men ever. He was one of the wisest men I've ever been around. Somebody once said to me: 'Would you rather be around someone wise or smart?' I said, 'Well, I don't think you can be wise unless you're smart,' and he was one of the smartest guys I've ever been around. Some of the things he said and his memory were just amazing to me. It was really a pleasure for me to know him and know him intimately. And to watch how his life changed after he stopped coaching. People gathered around him. His life transcended his basketball career, and he might have contributed as much outside of the game as he did in the game, but he will always be remembered for all the championships he won.''
On Justice: "He's a remarkable man. Every once in a while, I tell him, 'You're crazy.' But he has a vision, and he knows what he wants to do with this place. It's really thrilling to be around that 18th hole. It's sort of an amphitheater, and I think the people from West Virginia ought to thank goodness that there's a man like this in the state. He cares so much, and he's cared a lot for a long time. He doesn't let anyone know about it. I told him he's becoming a rock star. He can't hide from anybody.''
On the Prime 44 West steakhouse at The Greenbrier, which West said was first envisioned by Justice: "It was his idea," West said, smiling broadly. "It's very humbling when somebody wants to kind of build a shrine to you."
On Gov. Joe Manchin: "I enjoy being around him. He's been a great governor of West Virginia. And I'm happy that we're friends. We communicate every once in a while. I'm excited for him to see if he can be a new senator here. I hope that happens.''
Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com. Andrew Clevenger contributed to this story.
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