Here is a story about Jerry West which may or may not be true:

In the 1956-57 season, several years before he became professional star with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry was a player on the freshman basketball team of the West Virginia University Mountaineers. He completed a successful season and he looked forward to the team banquet at the end of the season.

He was terribly shy and he struggled to get a date for the banquet. He finally had to settle for asking someone who didn’t know anything about basketball or his team mates.

While Jerry and his date were enjoying the meal Jerry was indicating the various coaches and players and telling her their names and talking about them.

Just as Jerry said, “and there’s Hot Rod Hundley”, his date exclaimed, “That looks like a panda to me!”

“It is a panda”, agreed Jerry, “but it is also Hot Rod Hundley”.

“How could a panda possibly be good at playing basketball?” asked his date.

“You might not expect it, explained Jerry, but that panda is a very talented basketball player. He is a senior and the team leader. We put him in a basketball uniform and do the best we can to make him look like a human being. To tell the truth the team wouldn’t be successful without him. He’s short and he’s slow, but he can dribble behind his back and between his legs. He often takes hook shots at the foul line and sometimes he hangs on the rim and waits for me to throw him a lob pass. He spins the ball on his fingers, rolls it down his arm, and even rolls it behind his back. In addition to all the daredevil maneuvers and antics he’s really a hot shooter so that’s why we call him ‘Hot Rod’.”

Jerry’s date did the best she could to accept what Jerry was saying about Hot Rod but she noticed what Hot Rod was eating and asked, “What is that strange stuff he is eating?”

“Since Hot Rod is a panda he requires a special diet, replied Jerry. It’s an especially difficult challenge to find food for him on team road trips because he just eats shoots and leaves.”

After the dinner it was the Mountaineer tradition to go to the gym and play a game of HORSE before the awards ceremony. Even though Hot Rod only took hook shots from the three point range he won the HORSE game. Later as they were moving back to the dining area Jerry’s date noticed Hot Rod shuffling down the hall on the way to the exit. She asked Jerry, “Isn’t Hot Rod going to stay for the awards ceremony?” “Oh no”, answered Jerry, “It’s Hot Rod’s tradition to never stay for the awards ceremony. He just eats, shoots, and leaves.”

Copyright (c) 2010
eMeRaLD Effect Enterprises