Former Lakers and West Virginia coach Fred Schaus, who mentored Jerry West, dies at 84

Fred Schaus, mentor to West at WVU, dies at 84

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Fred Schaus, a former Los Angeles Lakers coach and general manager who mentored Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley at West Virginia, has died. He was 84.

The former West Virginia University coach and athletic director died Wednesday night in Morgantown, said Dan Hastings, a funeral director at Hastings Funeral Home in Morgantown.

The cause of death wasn’t immediately released.

Born in Newark, Ohio, Schaus earned all-America honors at West Virginia in 1949 and played five seasons in the NBA with the Fort Wayne Pistons and New York Knicks.

He was 127-26 as head coach at West Virginia from 1954 to 1960. The Mountaineers, led by West, advanced to the NCAA championship game in 1959. Schaus followed West to the Lakers, going 315-245 in seven seasons as head coach and making four NBA finals appearances before becoming general manager in 1967.