WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2014

Written by Bryan Messerly

Lester Rowe was a four-year starter and two-time team captain for coach Gale Catlett’s Mountaineer basketball teams from 1982-85.

Known to Mountaineer fans as “Lester Rowe from Buffalo and flies the friendly skies,” he helped lead WVU to three NCAA tournaments and one NIT during his career. Rowe also guided the Mountaineers to an Eastern 8 regular season championship in 1982, Atlantic 10 regular season titles in 1983 and 1985 and Atlantic 10 tournament titles in 1983 and 1984. During his career, the Mountaineers posted a record of 90-23.

Rowe finished his career with 1,524 points, which currently ranks 17th in school history and 787 rebounds, which ranks 13th in school history. He played in 121 games, making 114 career starts. Rowe ranks fourth in career field goal percentage at 54.2 percent. For his career, he averaged 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

As a senior in 1984-85, he averaged 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds and averaged 15.6 points and 6.9 rebounds as a junior. Rowe had a career-best 29 points against Rhode Island in 1984 and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds in games against Rutgers, Temple and Robert Morris, all in 1984. He started as a freshman on one of Catlett’s best teams in 1982.

Rowe was named the Atlantic 10 tournament Most Valuable Player in 1984. He was twice named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team in 1983 and 1984. Rowe earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team honors in 1985 and earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors three times during his career. As a freshman, he was named Eastern 8 Player of the Week and named to the Eastern 8 All-Freshman Team.

A member of the 1976-85 WVU all-time basketball team, Rowe played professional basketball for eight years in Argentina, the Philippines, Venezuela, France, Germany and the United States.

Rowe was reunited with the Mountaineer basketball program when he was hired as an assistant coach on Catlett’s staff in September 1997 and served in that capacity until 2002. In his first season as an assistant, WVU won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1998.

Rowe then became a commercial property manager and sales executive with Petroplus Lane, LLC. From 2005-10, Rowe played an integral role in West Virginia AAU Basketball as he served as the head coach of the West Virginia Hornets and assisted with the West Virginia Tornadoes and the West Virginia Blue Devils.

He returned to WVU in June 2011 as an assistant coach on Mike Carey’s women’s basketball staff. Since his return, Rowe has been a part of three NCAA tournament appearances and a Big 12 regular season title in 2013-14.

The Buffalo, N.Y., native earned a bachelor’s of science degree in physical education from West Virginia in 1985.

Rowe and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters, Monalisa and Monique.