WHEELING, W.Va (WV News) — As Herd That took on Best Virginia in its second round TBT matchup, Notre Dame alum Jarrod West stood from the bench to shout at point guard Rob Gray before a timeout. Motioning Gray over with his arms, West pulled him to the side to bring him a reminder.
“Obviously, my dad is a coach, and I’ve been around him my entire life,” West said. “I aspire to be a coach in the future. I try to bring energy and instill confidence in the guys. I want to give constant reminders. We have a lot of good players that don’t need to be talked to every play, but every now and then it’s good to bring in those reminders: ‘It’s OK, we’re good.’ At the end of the day, it’s bringing energy. If I’m not in the game, I want to bring that spirit and energy on the bench. I want to help out the team. It’s all about winning, so I’m down for that.”
West’s ties with the Marshall-based team are new, as this is his first year playing in the TBT. His ties to the team, though, are closer than most.
West played with most every other Marshall alum during his days at Marshall. Particularly, he was a part of the CIT championship winning team in which he, Jon Elmore, Taevion Kinsey and Rondale Watson, all now members of Herd That, claimed the second postseason championship in school history.
“The good thing is that we have that built in chemistry and camaraderie already,” West said. “We got a lot of guys who support each other and are there for each other. We won into the NCAA tournament together. We won a conference championship together. We won the CIT championship together. We’re trying to bring that here. Being around each other as teammates again is great.”
West’s accomplishments at the collegiate level saw him as a defensive mastermind. West averaged two or more steals for three of his seasons at Marshall. In his lone season at Louisville, West averaged 1.4 steals per game in over 28 minutes of work for the Cardinals.
West finished as Marshall’s all-time leader in steals for a career, amassing 254 to pass Skip Henderson’s 208. West once recorded 80 steals in a single season at Marshall, placing him as the best in school history for a single season as well.
Since his collegiate days, West has found himself touring the world as a professional.
“I’ve been all over the place, man,” West said. “Fresh out of college, I went to New Zealand. I came back for a month, and then this past year I played in China, Germany and Greece. I’m working on finding where I go next, but I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
West began his professional career with the Nelson Giants of New Zealand’s NZNBL. He averaged a whopping 17.6 points per game to go along with 3.9 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
West’s most recent season was played in Greece where he played with AS Karditsas. West averaged 1.2 steals in 21.5 minutes alongside 3.7 points and 2.7 assists.
But now, he’s back with his first collegiate team, chasing one million dollars.
“The atmosphere has been great, especially today,” West said following Herd That’s matchup with Best Virginia. “I’m just happy that we’re 2-0 and we’re still playing. We’ve just gotta keep going.”
West, along with the entire team, could be heard far away from the locker room celebrating the win over Best Virginia in the second round. West took the court against WVU as a player at Marshall, a game which the Herd lost 94-71.
“We all felt like we owed them a little bit,” West said of the win over Best Virginia. “I only played against them once in college, they beat us in the NCAA tournament. But I think Jon, these other guys played them a couple of times. They obviously have history in the TBT as well. We felt like we were the better team, and we took care of business. It feels good, but we came in thinking we were better. We’re enjoying it, and we have to keep going.”
But atmosphere seems to trump everything.
“It’s been really cool so far here, man,” West said. “I think one of the best things about this tournament is that you feel like you’re back in college for a little bit. Being in hotels, going out to dinner with your teammates and things like that.”
The feeling of being back in college is one that West’s younger brother Jaidyn will begin to experience in the fall as he signed with Fairmont State with the goal of reaching the D-I level.
“I’m super proud of him, man,” West said of his brother Jaidyn. “It hasn’t been as easy for him as it was for me. I’m super happy that he’s going to Fairmont (State). It’s a great program with great coaches and a great team. I think they’re going to do well this year. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
West and the rest of the Herd That roster will face off with Sideline Cancer on Saturday for a chance at a West Virginia regional championship in the TBT. A win for the team would give the team its most wins in a single TBT tournament and would place itself in the TBT Super Regional.
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