Background
McPherson was born on July 5, 1936 in Cass, West Virginia, a small town in Pocahontas County.
McPherson was born on July 5, 1936 in Cass, West Virginia, a small town in Pocahontas County.
He graduated from Green Bank High School (now known as Pocahontas County High School) in 1954 and attended college at Washington & Lee University.
A native of Cass, West Virginia, McPherson led the Virginia Military Institute Keydets for five seasons before working as a West Virginia men"s basketball coach for twenty years. He was also the head coach for the Alderson Broaddus Battlers in nearby Philippi for two seasons. During his time at West&L, McPherson played on the football team, which at the time was competing in the Southern Conference, and earned a liberal arts degree.
He is the son of the late L. West. and Polly McPherson.
Immediately following his graduation from Washington & Lee, McPherson began coaching for Bluestone High School in Skipwith, Virginia. He was the school"s head football and basketball coach.
Three years later McPherson left for Ferrum Junior College where he headed the Panther"s basketball program for two seasons. Virginia Military Institute
In 1963, McPherson joined the Virginia Military Institute Keydets basketball program and became the school"s first full-time assistant coach.
Under Louis "Weenie" Miller, McPherson and the Keydets ran through the 1964 Southern Conference Tournament en route to their first National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament appearance.
Their season was promptly ended by Princeton in the first round. Following the departure of Miller, McPherson would take over the helm and coach the Keydets for the next five years. He left the Institute with a 32–77 record.
West Virginia
Though his only time as a Division I head coach had finished, McPherson dedicated much of the next forty years to West Virginia University, largely as an assistant basketball coach.
McPherson first worked under Sonny Moran in the 1970s, and later with Gale Catlett through the 1980s after a brief stint with Alderson Broaddus University. His coaching career came to an end in 1993, though McPherson continued to work with West Virginia as a fundraiser and director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.