West Virginia has not been a hotbed of NBA talent, only producing 15 NBA/ABA players. Of that pool of players, only a handful of Mountaineers alumni have been consistant professional players, three of which have been all-star caliber players.

Who is the top NBA All-Star game performer? Let’s count it down (all three of them):

Schaus and West, CREDIT: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

3. Fred Schaus, Fort Wayne Pistons (1951)

Alll-Star Game Totals: 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists

Fred Schaus entered the NBA draft in 1949 after an eventful career at West Virignia that culminated in a 1949 All-America campaign.

Schaus was drafted in the third round of the NBA draft (27th overall) by the Fort Wayne Pistons. In his rookie season, Schaus averaged 14.3 points per game, becoming an instant star for the Pistons.

Schaus improved on his rookie season in the 1950-51 season, pushing his scoring average to 15.3 points per game, earning an appearance in the innaugural NBA All-Star game.

That first All-Star game was played at the Boston Garden. Schaus and the West All-Stars lost to the East All-Stars by a final score of 111-94.

Schaus came off the bench for the West, shooting 2 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

The 1951 NBA All-Star game was the only All-Star game that Fred Schaus would ever appear in. His career would slowly taper off from that season and Schaus would only play two more seasons in Fort Wayne and one with the New York Kincks before ending his career in 1954.

He would later find mixed coaching success at West Virginia and Purdue. He is most remembered for his coaching stint with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1960-1967, taking them to five Western Conference Finals and as a GM of the Lakers from 1968-1972. Schaus assembled the Lakers squad that won the 1972 NBA Finals.

For a complete biography (and obituary) of Fred Schaus, visit post-gazette.com

December 12, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors executive board member Jerry West smiles during a television interview during media day at the Golden State Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

We take a late look at West Virginia men’s basketball after a long day of football recruiting coverage.

It is not often that you think of a 6’3″ forward as being a top rebounder. As a matter of fact, you don’t often think of a 6’3″ forward at all (shows you how much the game has changed over the years). Fact is, in WVU men’s hoops history, one of the top rebounders in school history was a little fella named Jerry West.

That’s right folks, “the Logo” is tied for the school record for single game rebounds with 31 boards on February 6, 1960 against George Washington. West is tied with Mack Isner (February 14,1952 at Virginia Tech).

West did it all at West Virginia, from scoring (2,309) to assisting (261) to rebounding (1,240). It is no wonder he went on to great success with the Los Angeles Lakers.

His game, 53 years ago against GWU, was an example of West’s greatness.

A year removed from their appearance in the National Championship game, West and the Mountaineers had rolled through their Southern Conference schedule to a mark of 17-2 and the #5 ranking in the AP poll. Next in WVU’s path of destruction was the George Washington Colonials.

West and the Mountaineers lit up GWU in this game, building a 10 point lead by halftime and continuing their momentum the rest of the game, on their way to a 101-79 victory.

It was a fast paced game, with the teams combining for 176 shots from the field. Neither team shot exceptionally well, as they combined to make a paltry 56 baskets, leaving quite a few rebound attempts.

It is no wonder then that Jerry West was able to snare 31 rebounds, with so many missed shots in a high tempo match. West’s 31 led all Mountaineers (as evidenced by the record) and accounted for 36.4% of West Virginia’s 85 rebounds.

Yes, WVU had 85 rebounds in this game. Talk about ugly shooting. GWU also had quite a few rebounds, totaling 64.

Jerry West would make it a double-double, scoring 29 points on 7 of 23 shooting from the field.

It’s been a busy weekend in the university city. WVU football team continued to roll, conference talk never seems to end, and award need handed out. Lots of news to catch everyone up on, so here we go.

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