It didn't take long for Jerry West to prove yet again that he's a winner.

After a Hall-of-Fame playing career with the Lakers that saw him win one championship and a front-office stint with the same team that saw him win five more, West signed on as president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies in April 2002.

In April 2004, it's very likely his team will be playing in a postseason game for the first time in its nine-year history.

``We just wanted to get to 41,'' forward James Posey said after the Grizzlies clinched their first winning season Tuesday night. ``We've got it right now, but we're looking at the bigger picture.''

The bigger picture is this: Going into Friday's action, Memphis is 42-26, seeded sixth in a superior Western Conference, and just a half-game back of Dallas for the No. 5 spot. Prior to this season, the team's best record was 28-54 in 2003-04.

``If we take care of business at the end of the season, then the opportunity will present itself,'' Posey added.

No one is more responsible for that opportunity than West, a person who has arguably accomplished more in basketball than anyone ever associated with the game.

It all started in 1956 at East Bank High School in West Virginia, where he was an All-American as a senior, led the school to the state championship and became the first prep player in state history to score 900 points in a season.

Then it was a remarkable four years at the University of West Virginia, where he averaged 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds, was named an All-American twice and led the team to the NCAA title game in 1959 _ earning the tournament's outstanding player award along the way.

In 1960, he was a co-captain of the 1960 gold medal-winning Olympic team, which also featured Hall-of-Famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy.

Following his Olympic triumph in Rome, West became the Lakers' first draft pick after the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, when they selected him with the second overall pick in the 1960 draft.

From there, he began a 14-year career with the Lakers that saw him make the All-Star team every season, go to the NBA Finals nine times and become the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 25,192 points. His 27 points per game is the fifth-highest average all time.

After retiring as a player, West would return to coach the Lakers during the 1977-78 season, then served as a consultant before being promoted to general manager in 1982.

During his 19-year tenure as GM and later as Executive Vice President, the Lakers made eight NBA Finals appearances. In 1996, West signed free agent Shaquille O'Neal on July 8, then traded for the rights to 17-year-old Kobe Bryant on July 11 _ three days of work and a ``three-peat'' from 2000-2002.

``Mr. Clutch'' was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1980 and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996. Completing his legacy is the fact that his silhouette makes up the NBA's official logo.

West retired from the Lakers front office in 2000 but was lured back by the Grizzlies when they relocated from Vancouver before the 2002-03 season.

``There's a tremendous amount of pride it brings to a community to have a great team,'' West said. ``That's the fun part of being on the ground floor and watching it grow.''

So far this season that community has been treated to one of the most exciting shows in the league. The Grizzlies, 27-8 since Jan. 1, are one of the best home teams in the NBA with a 26-8 record at the Pyramid. A new arena, the FedExForum, is scheduled to open next season.

West has orchestrated several deals, including the acquisitions of Posey, Mike Miller and Bonzi Wells, to put together a strong cast of young, emerging talents and a roster that has only one player over 30 _ veteran forward Bo Outlaw.

Led by Pau Gasol and Jason Williams, Memphis boasts one of the NBA's deepest rotations, with five players scoring in double figures and only Gasol averaging over 30 minutes per game.

Keeping the cast of youngsters on track and playing like a team is veteran coach Hubie Brown, a former NBA Coach of the Year who West convinced to come out of retirement in November 2002.

``We've been fortunate because we have one of the best evaluators of talent ever in the history of the game,'' said Brown.

With the season winding down and the playoffs approaching, don't be too surprised if these young Grizzlies are still playing into May.

``We are so far away from peaking,'' Brown said. ``I'm being serious.''

With ``Mr. Clutch'' leading the way, no one's taking it lightly.

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John Kosik is a writer for AP MegaSports. Write to him at jkosik(at)ap.org.