On the day Rod Thorn’s uniform number was retired at West Virginia, he can’t help at times but wonder what if when thinking back on his playing career.

Thorn was a freshman during Jerry West’s senior season and while the two never played together for the Mountaineers they will always be linked for more than the No. 44 uniform they shared.

“If that was one I had to do over I probably wouldn’t have done to tell you the truth,” Thorn joked on wearing the same uniform number as West.

It was the latest in a legendary line of basketball succession when it came to home-grown players during the era. West was a freshman when Hot Rod Hundley was in his senior season and then Thorn arrived during West’s final year. The three are the only players in school history to have their jersey’s retired and represented a golden age of basketball for the Mountaineers program.

“It does seem weird, doesn’t it?” Thorn said of the one-year difference that forced both West and himself to play on the freshman team and miss the chance to find out.

We’ll never know what could have happened if any of the three managed to play together, but it’s hard not to look at the possibilities when reflecting back on it especially for Thorn who played against West in the pre-season and had a first-hand look at his greatness.

West was gifted with incredible hand-eye coordination, with long arms and plus athleticism. He was the type of player that could go two or three months without picking up a basketball and within 30 minutes could be in mid-season form. He was simply a cut above the rest.

“It would have been great. It really would have been. Who knows what we would have done, but it would have been great,” Thorn said.

Thorn certainly wasn’t lacking in the skill department either. The Princeton native, who was named as a natural resource of the state by the legislature, selected the Mountaineers over his other finalist Duke in order to stay home and represent the state.

As a sophomore, his first year with varsity, Thorn averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, numbers that would improve over his next two years. He finished his career at 21.8 and 11.1 over his three seasons with the Mountaineers as he excelled in the open motion offense.

“You passed and cut away, set a screen. You depended on ball movement and you depended on people moving. You couldn’t stand around. It was great because there were a lot of shots in games,” he said.

His patented two-handed jump shot showed range even before a three-point line. Thorn was the next great to play in the Old Fieldhouse, thriving in the home field environment it provided.

Admittedly, he felt pressure following in the footsteps of West, but it was all self-applied.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to live up to be the next West. I had a tough time with that for a while and I realized you have to be the best player you can be,” Thorn said. “You’re not going to be Jerry West.”

So he didn’t as Thorn proved himself to be a unique talent in his own right. He doesn’t necessarily recall individual games as much as he does the people and day-in and day-out of playing in Morgantown. And now, he joins both West and Hundley as those former greats whose uniforms are now retired.

An honor, even somebody inducted in the basketball hall of fame, doesn’t take lightly.

“This is right up there. To be honored by your school and the state you grew up,” he said.

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