Jimmy Valvano: A Great College Basketball Coach

When you think of great college basketball coaches many would list John Wooden, Coach K, and Bobby Knight. These coaches all achieved great things and are more than worthy of this recognition. However, I believe there is a man that deserves it way more than these great coaches and that is Jimmy Valvano. This was a coach that contributed more than just wins and knowledge of basketball to the players in his programs or around the world. He taught lessons to people that would help them in their everyday life and could find ways to motivate individuals no matter the task at hand.

Jimmy was a former Rutgers University star that started his coaching career right after graduation where he accepted a head coaching job at John Hopkins for just one season. He would go on to see coaching stints at Connecticut, Bucknell, Iona and North Carolina State. Valvano would spend ten seasons with NC State where he helped lead his coach to two ACC conference tournament titles and two regular season championships. His most notable achievement comes from a miraculous run in 1983 where his team would have to win three straight games and the ACC

tournament in order to get their guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament. This route required Valvano’s team to beat the defending national champions North Carolina and #2 Virginia to punch their ticket.
This is where Valvano’s coined term “survive and advance” became apparent and proved that one should not sleep on his NC State team.

As motivation to get ready for this run Valvano scheduled a practice prior to the NCAA tournament, however there were no basketballs being used at this practice. The athletes walked in and seen a ladder positioned under the basketball net, Valvano then talked to his players and had them cut down the net. This was in order to get them to understand what they are working for and what it will feel like to achieve greatness by winning a National Title. Surviving and advancing is exactly what his squad did all the way to the title game. A game that would end in his NC State team cementing their spot in history by knocking off the number 1 seeded Houston on a buzzer beating dunk to take home the National

Championship.
When one asks Valvano what are the characteristics of a really great day he does not mention winning a national title. Instead he believes that a full day involves crying, thinking and laughing. All of which may have happened on that national title day but as that was not the important part of that journey. Valvano would go on to become a sports analysis shortly after retiring from coaching.
In 1992 Valvano’s life changed forever when he was diagnosed with glandular cancer. The next year he would go on to speak at his 10-year anniversary of his teams Cinderella run to a national title, and give one of the most memorable speeches the ESPY of all time. Two months later Valvano would go on to lose his battle with cancer. Many videos and films have been made about the life of legendary coach Jimmy Valvano.