Lester Rowe

When high school basketball fans in Buffalo and Western New York talk about all time great players in the region, Lester Rowe is always in the discussion.

In Yale Cup action, Rowe was a standout for the Lafayette High School Violets. During his senior year, Rowe emerged as a dominant forward, averaging 28 points and 12 rebounds per game while leading Lafayette to the league championship. His standout performance earned him 1st team All-WNY honors, as well as co-Western New York Player of the Year by The Buffalo News in 1981, sharing the honor with Ray Hall of Bennett High School.

Following his graduation from Lafayette, Rowe enrolled at West Virginia where he was a 4-year starter. In his four years at West Virginia, he helped lead the Mountaineers to 3 Atlantic 10 Conference titles and two conference tournament championships. His teams appeared in three NCAA Tournaments and one National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

Rowe served as the team captain for two seasons and twice led the team in scoring and rebounding. By the time he had graduated from WVU with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education, he had posted 1,524 pts and 787 rebounds in 121 games and WVU was 90-33 in his 4 years on the hardwood. He was named Atlantic-10 Tournament MVP in 1984 and All-Conference 2nd team in 1985.

Following graduation, he played professionally for eight seasons – first in the United States Basketball League and the Continental Basketball League, before competing in international play.

Following his playing career, Rowe returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach of the men’s basketball team (1997-2002). Although he stepped away from basketball following the 2002 season, he returned again to WVU in 2011 as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team, a position he held for eight seasons. During that time the program had seven 20-win seasons and five NCAA

Tournament appearances. He has also served as an assistant coach for both the Northern Kentucky and Xavier women’s basketball programs.
Rowe was named to the 2nd team All-1980s team by The Buffalo News and the WVU’s all-time basketball team spanning 1976–1985. He was inducted into the West Virginia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.