A decade later, and a little more than a month before his premature death, Valvano would give one of the most memorable speeches in sports history as he accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the first ESPY Awards. Valvano lived a remarkable and inspiring life, and has left behind a lasting legacy that should be celebrated by all. In his 19 year coaching career, Valvano amassed 346 wins, but should be remembered for much more than simply his coaching career.
Valvano was a point guard at Rutgers University from 1964-67, and helped lead the Scarlet Knights to 3rd place in the 1967 NIT. After a successful college career that saw him score over 1,000 points, Valvano made his break into coaching. He coached at Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, and Iona before landing his coaching gig he is most remembered for at NC State in 1980. In 1983, after a season with high hopes was derailed by injuries, Valvano's squad needed an ACC Tournament title if they wanted to get into the Big Dance. The team went on a historic run, defeating heavily favored UNC and Virginia to win the tournament and punch their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. The team continued it's improbable run, winning close games in the NCAA Tournament, and becoming known as "The Cardiac Pack." After pulling off repeated upsets, the Wolfpack found themselves playing for the National Championship against a star-studded Houston squad. With the help of a last second air ball, that was slammed home by Lorenzo Charles, NC State pulled off it's final upset, winning the National Championship 54-52. One of Valvano's most memorable moments stemmed from this game, as he ran around the court like a maniac after the win, just looking for someone to hug.
Unfortunately, Valvano's tenure with NC State came to an end after multiple allegations against him and his program, most of which were proven false. Valvano would get past these allegations, however, and move into a successful albeit brief career as a basketball commentator. Only two years removed from coaching the Wolfpack, Valvano was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1992. Nine months later, Valvano would be helped up to the stage at the first ESPY's and give one of the most memorable speeches of all time. During this speech he announced the creation of The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. This foundation has allowed Valvano's remarkable legacy to live on in the two decades since it's creation. Just over a month later, cancer would take Valvano's life, at the young age of 47, but not before he had the opportunity to leave a lasting impression on millions, and make a huge difference in the world. To date The Jimmy V Foundation has raised over $100 million for cancer research. So for all the college basketball players preparing for the tournament, patients battling cancer, and anyone going through rough times, remember to live by the words of Jim Valvano, “Don’t Give Up . . . Don’t Ever Give Up!”®
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