William Mason, Morgantown
Thanks to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Pikewood Creative and to all associated with “Hot Rod: The Untold Story of Hot Rod Hundley.” To this fan, it was excellent.
It’s no exaggeration to say Hot Rod put WVU basketball on the national sports map and set the scene for Jerry West later.
The combination of skill and fun eclipsed anything that came before and filled the Field House in the days before the Coliseum.
We already knew that Hundley’s antics came only when a win was assured and never jeopardized the outcome. What we didn’t know was the real Hot Rod. We do now.
The comments of his daughters reflected the human side, and his long career as broadcaster for the Utah Jazz of the NBA showed that he, like West, never wanted to leave basketball.
The statues of both at the Coliseum show the appreciation of the fans.
Hundley observed that to do play-by-play basketball well you had to have played the game. How many college basketball broadcasts have you seen that didn’t include one former player? He was right.
While a student at WVU during the Hundley era, I visited the old Mountainlair in a snack quest. In the ballroom, Hundley and a girl were in a whirlwind dance that belonged on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” He could have been a professional dancer.
Like the other fans, I’m glad he wasn’t.
