Former Hoops Standout McCormick Dies

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Former standout West Virginia University men’s basketball player Jim McCormick died Sunday afternoon in Lexington, Kentucky, where he has resided for the last several years.A New Martinsville native, the Magnolia High product teamed with All-American Rod Thorn to give West Virginia one of the best backcourts in college basketball in the early 1960s when the duo led the Mountaineers to a pair of Southern Conference titles in 1962-63.

McCormick averaged double figures in each of his three varsity seasons as Thorn’s sidekick, including a career-high 15.2 points-per-game average during his senior year in 1963. The Mountaineers won 23 games and defeated Connecticut in the…