Some people have told me that when Jonnie West took to the court Saturday night, they were, well, I guess the word would be scared. WVU was a few solid possessions and successful trips to the free-throw line away from moving on to the Final Four, but those possessions and trips were elusive.

Enter West, who can make free throws, but who hadn’t played all game, and I’d imagine some WVU fans were waiting for the other shoe.

I was wrong. West had a menacing look on a face that was void of any intimidation. He secured his arm sleeve, spoke to teammates with his hands and did his job. Now, he didn’t do anything, either, but that’s part of the job’s description. The Mountaineers won and West, who’d spoken to his famous father a short while later, was still stern.

“It means a lot to him,” he said not long after speaking to his father over the phone Saturday night. “I think the one thing he regrets most in his life is not winning the national championship for the school and for the state. He always talks about just how much the state means to him. It’s special to the whole family. Winning this would mean a whole lot to us.”

Jonnie said he told his father he was to come to the Final Four, “no matter what,” but it seems unlikely. Jonnie said Jerry doesn’t want to jinx the event. Jerry said he doesn’t want to be a “distraction,” which matters dearly. Jonnie has a chance to do what Jerry and the Mountaineers could not in 1959, but Jerry has been there before and knows that, among many things, WVU needs a narrow focus.

“You need good fortune. When you have good fortune, you also have to have a good game. You just can’t play any bad games. There will be a lot more nerves going through players’ bodies. The team is resilient. They have great faith Bob can lead them to the Promised Land. I just hope it will work out for them, the university, the coaches, the people of the state.”