Olympic Legends – 1960 Rome Games

LONDON (Olympics) - Jerry West has captured numerous titles in his career as a player and an NBA executive, but what ranks as his greatest achievement for him is being an Olympian.

West, a co-captain with Oscar Robertson in a star-studded USA team at the Rome Games in 1960, says the experience was unforgettable and changed his life.

"There was so much going on in the world then,” he said, “the threat of nuclear war, the Cold War, racism.

“The world was in turmoil.

"When I was selected (for the Olympic team), it was like the dream of a lifetime.

“When you went to the ceremonies, it was just incredible the feeling that you had inside.”

The Americans were coached by Pete Newell and entered the Games as prohibitive favorites.

The USA arrived in Italy as the only country to have finished top of the podium at the Summer Games.

When they travelled to Rome looking to continue the winning streak, the players never thought it wasn’t going to be easy.

“My only experience playing international basketball had been playing in the Pan American Games in 1959 in Chicago and it was a completely different game,” West said.

“It was very physical and players were bigger, stronger and older than we were, when I guess we were 20 years of age.”

Once the Olympics got underway, no team came close to denying the United States a gold medal for the sixth consecutive time.

Robertson, a guard out of the University of Cincinnati, averaged a team best 17.3 points per game while Ohio State Buckeyes great Jerry Lucas was second at 16.8 and West third at 14.1.

On the opening day of the tournament, hosts Italy were the first to experience the might of the United States and fell, 88-54.

The Americans followed with wins over Japan (125-66) and Hungary (107-63) before playing in the Semi-Final round and downing Yugoslavia (104-42), Uruguay (108-50) and the Soviet Union (81-57).

The Soviets, who had a giant center by the name of Jan Kruminsh, only trailed Newell's team 35-28 at the break but were then brushed aside in the first five minutes of the second half with a 20-point onslaught by the USA.

West had a team-high 19 points and the Americans prevailed, 81-57.

“We had to beat Russia (the Soviets),” West said, “and I played my best game.”

In the Final Round, the United States took on Italy again and cruised, 112-81, before putting an exclamation mark on the Rome campaign with a 90-63 triumph over Brazil.

The Soviets received the silver medal and Brazil claimed the bronze.

In 1960, only two players climbed onto the podium to accept the gold medal, and West and Robertson did so for the Americans.

“I wish that people could know what it felt like,” West said.

“The emotion that was going through your body, the elation, the joy.

“I really felt for the first time that I had done something not for West Virginia or for my high school team, but we’d done something for the country.”

It was a seminal moment for West and all the American players.

“Every time (today) that I hear the national anthem, I’m immediately back to that point in time,” West said.

“It made the biggest impression on me than anything, more than winning an NBA Championship.”

FIBA