LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jim McCormick, the West Virginia basketball Hall of Fame guard who starred on three teams that cracked the AP top 10 in the early 1960s, died Sunday. He was 77.
A 6-foot-3 walk-on who arrived at WVU in 1960, McCormick paired with Rod Thorn to lead the Mountaineers’ freshman team to an undefeated season.
Over the next three years, he and Thorn led West Virginia to a 70-18 record, three Southern Conference titles and two NCAA tournament appearances. Their senior team finished 23-8, losing in the Sweet 16 to Saint. Joseph’s.
With scoring averages of 12.7, 15.4 and 15.2, McCormick was a dangerous complement to the All-American Thorn.
McCormick produced 1,156 career points for a 14.4 per-game average that ranks 17th in program history.
He also recorded 253 career assists, twice earning second-team all-conference honors, before becoming a sixth-round pick of the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals.
A record-setting legend at Magnolia High School, McCormick averaged 29.2 points as a senior, a school record that lasted 45 years.
McCormick later pursued a career teaching vocational rehabilitation. He is survived by his wife Linda, son Mike, and daughter Diana.