By Delegates Frazier, Ellington and Gearheart)
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2012R1273A 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8 2 (By Delegates Frazier, Ellington and Gearheart) 3 4 5 6 Requesting the Division of Highways to designate the interchange of 7 Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 460 in Princeton, West Virginia 8 the “All-American Rod Thorn Interchange.” 9 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn, the son of Joe and Jackie Thorn, was raised 10 in Princeton and graduated from Princeton High School in 1959; and 11 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn played baseball and basketball at Princeton 12 High School for four years, and while under the tutelage of 13 basketball coach William "Buster" Brown, was named to the West 14 Virginia All-State Basketball team his sophomore, junior and senior 15 years; and 16 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn was heavily recruited by many of the top 17 college basketball programs in the country, but chose to stay home 18 and play for West Virginia University; and 19 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn was a baseball and basketball standout at 20 WVU from 1961-1963, and played on three NCAA baseball and two NCAA 21 basketball teams. In 1963 Rod was named the Southern Conference 22 Athlete of the Year. In basketball, Rod scored 1785 career points 23 and led the Mountaineers in scoring, rebounding, shooting 24 percentage and assists while earning All-America honors from the 1 2012R1273A 1 Helms Foundation, Look, Coach and Athlete and Converse; and 2 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn was the second player selected overall in 3 the 1963 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets and was named to the 4 NBA All-Rookie Team his first year with the Bullets. Rod went on 5 to play with Detroit, St. Louis and Seattle during a career that 6 spanned eight years; and 7 WHEREAS, After finishing his playing career in 1971, Rod Thorn 8 stayed with the Seattle Supersonics as an assistant coach under 9 head coach Lenny Wilkens. In 1973, Rod became an assistant coach of 10 the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, and 11 helped the Nets, who were led by Julius Erving, to win the 1974 ABA 12 championship. Rod also served as head coach of the ABA St. Louis 13 Spirits in 1975 and was an assistant coach with the Nets when they 14 moved to the NBA in 1976; and 15 WHEREAS, In 1978, Rod Thorn began a seven year stint as 16 general manager of the Chicago Bulls and he was instrumental in the 17 team's selection of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. During his 18 tenure with Chicago, Rod also served as interim head coach for 19 thirty games in 1982; and 20 WHEREAS, From 1986 to 2000 Rod Thorn was the NBA's Executive 21 Vice President of Basketball Operations, where he oversaw all on- 22 court operations, including officiating, game conduct and 23 discipline; and 24 WHEREAS, In 2000 Rod Thorn became President of the New Jersey 2 2012R1273A 1 Nets and was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2002 after the 2 Nets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise 3 history. In 2010 Rod Thorn became President of the Philadelphia 4 76ers NBA team after serving with the Nets organization the 5 previous ten years; and 6 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn has an honorary degree from West Virginia 7 University and served on the WVU Board of Directors for five years. 8 Rod also has a degree from the University of Washington that he 9 completed while coaching with the Seattle Supersonics; and 10 WHEREAS, Rod Thorn was inducted into the West Virginia 11 University Sports Hall of Fame in 1992; and 12 WHEREAS, Rod and his wife, Peggy, have a son, Jonathan, and 13 twin daughters, Amanda and Jessica; and 14 WHEREAS, Throughout his storied career, Rod Thorn has remained 15 a loyal West Virginian who has continued his close ties with West 16 Virginia University, the City of Princeton and the State of West 17 Virginia; and 18 WHEREAS, It is only fitting and proper that Rod Thorn's good 19 works and important contributions to the game of basketball, to 20 West Virginia University, the City of Princeton and the State of 21 West Virginia be so honored and remembered; therefore, be it 22 Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia: 23 That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to designate 24 the interchange of Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 460 in Princeton, 3 2012R1273A 1 West Virginia the “All-American Rod Thorn Interchange”; and, be it 2 Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is requested 3 to have made and be placed, signs or other appropriate markers, 4 identifying the interchange as the “All-American Rod Thorn 5 Interchange”; and, be it 6 Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates 7 forward a certified copy of this resolution to Rod Thorn and his 8 family, and the Secretary of the Department of Transportation. 4.