Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 6, 1993 TAG: 9304060018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
WRITERS HONOR VALVANO FOR COURAGE IN CANCER FIGHT
Jim Valvano, whose battle with cancer kept him from returning for the 10th anniversary of his coaching championship at North Carolina State, received the Most Courageous Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Monday.The Most Courageous Award, sponsored by Coors Light, has been presented annually since 1978 by the USBWA to a person who demonstrates unusual courage reflecting honor on the sport of basketball.
In addition to presenting the award to Valvano, the brewery and USBWA donated $1,000 to the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Valvano, now a telecast analyst for ESPN and ABC Sports, was represented at the ceremony by his former Iona assistant coach, Florida State's Pat Kennedy, and ESPN/ABC cohort Dick Vitale.
Both of their voices broke as they spoke of Valvano. "I just pray that he will still be here a year from now," Kennedy said.
Vitale touched on Valvano's courage and his refusal to give in to the disease that was diagnosed almost a year ago.
"Jimmy has had that incredible gift to make people laugh," Vitale said. "He has helped so many people, and I'd just hope that people will get behind him and fight this disease."
\ DOME DEAL: The future of the Final Four? Apparently, there's no place like dome.
Duke athletic director Tom Butters, the chairman of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, told USBWA members Monday that site reviews soon will take place for the Final Fours from 1998-2000.
For those three years, five sites are under consideration. Each is an indoor stadium - Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the new Alamodome in San Antonio and the Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, Fla.
This year's NCAA finish at the Superdome was the third in 12 years there. Since the 1987 Final Four was played there, five of the seven Final Fours have been in domes, including the past three.
Next year, in the Charlotte Coliseum, and 1996, at the Meadowlands Arena, will be the exceptions to the trend. The '95 Final Four will be at Seattle's Kingdome; the '97 at the Hoosier Dome.
\ NEW HEAD: Holy Cross coach George Blaney is the new president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Blaney said at the USBWA gathering that the coaches' organization "is trying to become more pro-active. We want to be part of the solution, not the problem."
Blaney, whose son, Brian, plays basketball at Roanoke College, said the coaches must improve their image by enhancing their reputation as educators, not just coaches.
The Crusaders' coach said the NABC gathering at this Final Four "has been different," with more meetings and less socializing.
\ TEAM USA: C.M. Newton, Kentucky's athletic director and the president of the restructured USA Basketball, said the organization is intent on finding suitable international competition for the college players who would have been Olympians in the past.
USA Basketball is the national governing body for the selection and training of men's and women's national teams that represent the United States in all international competition. Starting with the Barcelona Olympics last summer and the "Dream Team" performance, the NBA also comes under the USA Basketball umbrella.
Newton said the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team isn't likely to include any college players and that the team that competes in the 1994 World Championships in Toronto also will be an all-NBA team.
However, a USA Select Team of men's college players will be chosen soon to compete in June against selected European national teams. A different committee will select 12 college players for another squad, the Under-22 Team that will play in an international tournament in Argentina, also in June.
\ GOING DOWN: The Kentucky fans who flooded New Orleans were two-time losers over the weekend.
First, the Wildcats lost Saturday's semifinal nightcap to Michigan. Then, when many Kentucky followers tried to sell their tickets for Monday night's championship game, they found the huge Superdome and the upset loss worked against them.
Terrace tickets, which were being sold for $100 last week, were bringing only $10. The best seats, priced at $30, were available on the walkway outside the dome for $20 to $25.