WVU Releases Fan Voted ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Hoops

On President’s Day, West Virginia University released the fan voted “Mount Rushmore” of Mountaineer hoops.

WVU fans voted four men’s hoops players to the famous historical national memorial. The fan consensus is: Jerry West, Da’Sean Butler, “Hot Rod” Hundley and Jevon Carter.

As voted on by the fans, we present Mountaineer Rushmore!#HailWV | #PresidentsDay pic.twitter.com/XNcc7iawJZ

— WVU Basketball (@WVUhoops) February 17, 2020

After the release, recent alum Jevon Carter thanked Mountaineer nation. His recognition was also noted by ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla who called Carter “officially a legend.”

Wow 😳 speechless 🙏🏾 thank you all West Virginia fans love you all ♥️ https://t.co/5bFk3JCGZL

— Jevon Carter (Bulldog) (@nextlevel_03) February 17, 2020

All four WVU greats have all etched their place in Mountaineer basketball history.

Jerry West/”The Logo”: West, who is arguably the most famous athlete to wear the old gold and blue, was inducted into the West Virginia University Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 1959 and 1960, West earned consensus All-America honors, including a senior campaign in which he averaged 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game, according to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame biography.

Subsequently, West was taken in the first round of the NBA draft by the Lakers (No. 2 overall) and spent 14 outstanding seasons in Los Angeles. He established the NBA single game scoring record for guards on Jan. 17, 1962 with 63 points against New York.

The Cheylan, West Virginia, native was elected to the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 1997. In 2007, before West Virginia’s game against Seton Hall, the school officially unveiled a statue of West, created by Morgantown artist Jamie Lester, outside the WVU Coliseum.

West’s jersey No. 44 was officialy retired by West Virginia University on Nov. 26, 2005 prior to the Mountaineers’ basketball game against LSU, becoming the first basketball number retired by the school. After retiring from playing, West served as general manager and president of the Lakers, general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2002 and most recently, a consultant and executive board member with the Golden State Warriors in 2011.

“Hot Rod” Hundley: Hundley averaged 24.5 points per game over three seasons in a Mountaineer uniform before being named to the WVU Hall of Fame in 1992, according to his biography. His 2,180 career points are second only to All-American Jerry West’s 2,309 points.

During his three years seasons at WVU, West Virginia posted an outstanding 72-16 record, including three Southern Conference titles and three NCAA tournament appearances. In his first season in 1954, Hundley established the freshman scoring record with 62 points against Ohio University and averaged almost 35 points per game that year.

Named to five All-America teams in 1957, he was the first player taken in the NBA draft and played with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers from 1958-63. He would go on to win awards as the voice of the Utah Jazz.

WVU retired his jersey number 33 on Jan. 23, 2010 before the Ohio State game. A life-size statue of Hundley was dedicated outside the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 20, 2016, less than a year after he died.

Da’Sean Butler: After leading the Mountaineers to the NCAA Final Four in 2010 and the knee injury that WVU fans will never forget, his professional career has taken him all over the country including Aalstar, Belgium; Reims, France; Ulm, Germany; and now Be’er Sheva, Israel. His tour around the world came after one year in the NBA G-League and a second serious knee injury which put a damper on his professional career.

Butler was the “king” of game-winning shots, hitting four with two in the Big East tournament to give WVU hoops its only league title. His game winner against Georgetown helped lead WVU to its second Final Four appearance in school history.

Jevon Carter: Carter is the definition of a hardworking, gritty Mountaineer who is evidently loved across the state of West Virginia and Mountaineer faithfuls across the country.

Drafted out of college to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018 with the 32nd pick in the second round, Carter had WVU fans gather to watch him play at arenas across the country. This remains true for Carter as he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Carter and the Suns will be in Washington D.C. for a game against the Wizards on March 20.

The Maywood, Illinois, native was named the 2017-18 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and earned his second straight Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award during his senior season at West Virginia University. He started all 37 games and averaged 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 3.03 steals.

Carter left West Virginia as the program’s all-time steals leader with 330 and set single-season school records for assists and steals.