Initially, West felt odd in his new environment. He was a loner. His high-pitched voice earned him the nickname "Tweety Bird", and he spoke with such a thick Appalachian accent that his teammates also referred to him as "Zeke from Cabin Creek" (his nickname acknowledged his country roots, and his accent was so thick that he squeaked his nickname sheepishly – "Zeek from Cab'n Creek"). However, West soon impressed his colleagues with his defensive hustle, with his vertical jump—he could reach up 16  inches above the rim when he went up—and with his work ethic, spending countless extra hours working on his game. On the floor, West scored 17.6 points, grabbed 7.7 rebounds and gave 4.2 assists per game. West won Schaus's trust and, alternating with Hundley, Selvy, and Leonard, played 35 minutes per game and established himself as the Lakers' second scoring option. The NBA commented that the Lakers now had a potent one-two-punch— with "Mr. Inside" (the low-post scorer, Baylor) and "Mr. Outside" (the long-distance shooter, West). These performances soon earned West his first of fourteen NBA All-Star Game call-ups.