A Grip on Sports: Jerry West’s NBA career was not only special on many levels, it also included a special night for one young man

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Jerry West was never considered the NBA’s greatest player. He was never considered the greatest coach. Nor the greatest general manager. Funny though. While he was in those roles, he was always part of the conversation. Coming up a hair short. Though he never came up short for some of us.
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• Travel back with us to 1970. A simpler time. Bell bottoms were all the rage. Long sideburns. Tye-die. Heck, it is so long ago, Bruce Springsteen was an unknown, playing guitar in some band known as Steel Mill.
Jerry West was already an established star. Known throughout the land. The heart and soul of a Laker team that included Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, two guys you might have heard of before. And West was our NBA hero.
Ever have a backyard hoop? If you did – ours was attached above the garage, as was the tradition in the car-crazy L.A. basin – you probably played shooting games to pass the time. Our game was simple. We were the Lakers. Playing either the Knicks or the Celtics, depending on the year. We narrated the game, sometimes in our head, sometimes out loud. If we took a shot and it went in, the Lakers scored. If we missed? The bad guys got the points. The Lakers always won, even if West had to shoot 10 layups down the stretch to make that happen.
He was Mr. Clutch, after all.
Why would West take all the Laker shots? Why not? At points in his career, it was actually true.
Baylor was injured much of the 1969-70 season. So was Chamberlain. The Lakers’ coach was a former college mentor by the name of Joe Mullaney. Without two of his trio of stars, Mullaney devised a unique strategy. West would bring the ball up the court, his other teammates would all go stand on the sideline away from the ball and, under the NBA’s strict defensive rules of the era, West would go one on one.
It worked well enough that West led the league in scoring that year, averaging 31.2 points per game. And the Lakers won enough to make the postseason.
For an eighth-grade basketball player, West’s heroics that season were something special. We wanted to be able to do that. Problem was, we weren’t St. Rita’s Jerry West. That role belonged to Joe Mullaney Jr.
Yep, the coach’s son was our point guard. And shooting guard. When dad left Providence and took the Laker job, he enrolled his son at the Catholic grade school closest to their Arcadia home. And started a cascade of events which led to Jerry West, second in NBA MVP voting in 1970, appearing as the headline speaker at St. Rita’s postseason basketball dinner.
We would love to report we asked a million questions. Told him about our backyard games. Chatted for hours. But none of that happened. He signed autographs. Talked with the dads. Spoke about hard work. Refining your game. Guaranteed us a championship. Wait, that last one didn’t happen. That wasn’t his style. Besides, how could he know the elusive ring that year would come down to one moment – Willis Reed limping onto the Madison Square Garden court, jumping center and energizing the Knicks’ title win?
That banquet was our one and only interaction with West. Never to be forgotten, even if most of our teammates have been in the ensuing 50-plus years. Thirteen-year-old Vince Grippi was hooked. No matter what West did from then on, he was enshrined in our personal Hall of Fame.
West died Wednesday. He was 86. In those years, basketball took him from West Virginia poverty to Hollywood glitter. His playing career is still among the top 20 of all time. His coaching career, while short, was successful. His team-building was unmatched, helping to put together the Showtime Laker groups that won five titles and the Kobe-Shaq teams that won three more.
For an encore, he become part of the Warriors front office in 2011 and is credited with an assist in the creation of that franchise’s championship run.
Through it all, West was always on the fringes of the greatest of all-time debate. In everything he did. Including touching, for one too-short evening, the path of one too-slow-and-small youth basketball player. Thanks Mr. West. For the nights in the backyard. For all the memories. For everything.
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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, about a year ago Washington had an athletic hierarchy in place that seemed set to lead the Huskies into a successful future. With president Ana Mari Cauce announcing this week she’s stepping down, every major decision-maker is gone. And UW is to, headed to the Big Ten with a huge hole in its athletic budget. … UCLA has a new chancellor headed to Westwood. At least Julio Frenk, who was at the University of Miami most recently, understands athletics. At least better than the guy he replaces. … The numbers stories for Oregon State and Oregon continue in the Oregonian. … So do the Beavers’ position previews. … Utah has built a fence around its state in recruiting. … Arizona has updated its roster after some spring portal changes. … Four Oregon State baseball players earned All-America honors, including player of the year candidate Travis Bazzana. … Colorado is trying to figure out how to replace KJ Simpson. … Oregon has an opening on its women’s basketball coaching staff. … A freshman is expected to play a big role next season for Arizona. … Can Utah become a softball power in the Big 12?
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs will reportedly be part of a new NIL-based tournament in Las Vegas in 2025. Theo Lawson has more on another barrier-breaking event in college basketball and how the Zags fit in. … Theo also has a story on GU broadcaster and former Zag great Dan Dickau and his shooting facility’s latest example of teamwork, joining with Spokane Public Schools for a series of free clinics.
Idaho: The Vandals are all in with football coach Jason Eck. So much so, athletic director Terry Gawlik has extended Eck’s contract through the 2028 season. The new deal was approved Wednesday by the state’s Board of Education. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana continues to add players to its men’s basketball roster. And a new assistant to the women’s staff. … A former Montana State assistant football coach has found a new home.
Indians: With eight games left in the first-half race, Spokane moved to a two-game lead following its 9-1 win in Vancouver last night. Dave Nichols has more. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Everett helped the Indians’ cause with a 5-1 win at Eugene. … Hillsboro kept winning, topping visiting Tri-City 4-1.
Velocity: Spokane is back in the Midwest tonight, facing Omaha once more in Jagermeister Cup play. Ethan Myers has a preview of the 5 p.m. match, which will be televised by SWX and ESPN+.
Hoopfest: Adam Morrison, Linda Sheridan, Terry Kelly, Tammy Tibbles and Larry Wendel make up the organization’s 2024 Hall of Fame class. That news kicks off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.
Mariners: What use is there to watch the first few innings of M’s games lately? Well, if you don’t, you miss performances like the one Bryce Miller turned in last night. Seven shut-out innings. And all he got was a no-decision. The M’s wait until they have to score to win, it seems. They did last night, with Luke Raley hitting a seventh-inning solo home run to put them up, then scoring from second on Mitch Haniger’s looping single to right in the 10th for a 2-1 victory. … Bryan Woo’s MRI was clean. He’s going to rest then return to the rotation.
Seahawks: Wow. The mini-camp must have gone well. New coach Mike Macdonald decided to ax the final day today, giving the players a jumpstart on their summer vacation. … Devon Witherspoon’s personality is starting to come to the fore. And he may just do that on the defense, filling a seeming leadership vacuum. … It’s time to unlock Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s full potential.
Storm: Seattle has one Commissioner’s Cup game left. But it doesn’t matter in one regard. Even if the Storm win by 100, they won’t be playing in the final.
Sonics: The victory parade is being scheduled in Boston, as the Celtics moved closer to their 18th NBA championship Wednesday night. All it took was holding off a Mavericks’ rally short-circuited when Luka Doncic fouled out. No one has blown a 3-0 lead in the finals before.
Kraken: A 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final? That’s not 100% but recently it has been close. Still, the Panthers are trying to stay locked in before tonight’s game in Edmonton. …The last assistant from the former coaching staff has found a new job.
Golf: It looks as if par will be defended well at Pinehurst today in the U.S. Open’s first round. The tournament is underway in North Carolina. … Will Scottie Scheffler win another major this week? If you watch him swing a club, you might wonder how he makes such consistent contact with his feet sliding everywhere. But there is method to the madness, a methodical madness his life-long coach encouraged early.
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• At times, we feel our journey through life has some Forrest Gump overtones. Not just because we had fleeting encounters with people like West, the NBA’s logo model. But also because we are often pretty obtuse – that’s putting it kindly. Until later …
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