FILE - West Virginia University basketball star Jerry West takes a practice shot in 1959. Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning, June 12, 2024, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86. (AP Photo/File)

PARKERSBURG — A decorated area basketball coach said West Virginia lost its greatest hero on Wednesday with the passing of Jerry West.

“I got a lump in my throat and my heart swelled up,” said former Williamstown girls basketball coach Fred Sauro, who retired in April after 54 years coaching, 38 at Williamstown, and a state record 557 victories.

Sauro said West was his favorite player growing up and he remembers watching West and the West Virginia Mountaineers lose the 1959 National Championship game to California by 1 point.

He said he kept a poster up in the locker room, that is now in his office, that had a quote from West to help his players: “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on days when you feel good.”

“It’s a sad day for West Virginia to lose Jerry West,” Sauro said.

FILE - Jerry West speaks during a news conference to introduce him as an advisor to the Los Angeles Clippers, in Los Angeles, June 19, 2017. Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning, June 12, 2024, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Rex Foster, volunteer commissioner of the Mid-Ohio Valley Baseball League, is the official scorekeeper for WVU’s men’s basketball home games. He said the death of Jerry West was a great loss to the state.

“We lost a great West Virginian,” Foster said. “Without any doubt, one of the greatest Mountaineers ever.”

Officials from around the state also paid tribute to West Wednesday:

* “Jerry West will forever be a West Virginia icon. A native of Chelyan in Kanawha County, Jerry made West Virginia incredibly proud through his continued contributions to our state and the game of basketball. Thinking of his family, loved ones, and all those he impacted throughout his life.”

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore

A statue of Jerry West is displayes outside of Crypto.com Arena Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning. He was 86. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Capito, R-W.Va.

* “When you think of basketball, you think of Jerry West, and it is only fitting his legacy has been forever commemorated in the (NBA’s) logo. Jerry was a pillar of West Virginia culture and never forgot his roots. To his core, Jerry was a West Virginian with an unbeatable work ethic and resilience like no other. He was a great friend and a world-class representative for both the NBA and for West Virginia.”

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va.

* “We celebrate the great life of a gentleman that we lost and a hero in every way in West Virginia – basically, in many ways, almost what we stand for – Jerry West. … This was a good man, a man that loved West Virginia beyond good sense, in every way. A man that told me so many times, the people of West Virginia, what makes us what we are, is we’re real.”

Gov. Jim Justice

An image of Jerry West is displayed outside the Chase Center, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in San Francisco. West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning. He was 86. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

* “There will never be another Jerry West. From his time as a record-breaking basketball player in the WVU Field House to his success in the front offices of some of the most respected sports franchises in America, Jerry brought his unique abilities, innovative spirit and quiet strength — the very best of what it means to be a Mountaineer. He was a dear friend and steadfast supporter of West Virginia University, and I send my sincerest condolences to his wife Karen and the entire West family.”

WVU President E. Gordon Gee

* “Mountaineer hearts all over the world are broken with the passing of the great Jerry West. A true gentlemen, one of the greatest players and executives the NBA has ever seen and certainly the most famous West Virginia Mountaineer of all time, he will be remembered forever by the sports world, and this university and its fans owe him a great debt of gratitude for a lifetime of achievement, generosity and loving memories. We have lost the greatest Mountaineer of all time, and there will never be another Jerry West.”

Wren Baker, WVU vice president and director of Athletics

Visitors pause at the statue of West Virginia's Jerry West, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, outside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning. He was 86. (Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion-Post via AP)

Visitors leave flowers at the base of a statue of West Virginia's Jerry West, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, outside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning. He was 86. (Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion-Post via AP)

FILE - West Virginia Mountaineer basketball great Jerry West is shown with a bronze likeness of him that was unveiled Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, in Morgantown, W.V. Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning, June 12, 2024, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86.(AP Photo/Micheal Switzer, File)