Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290142
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT McG. THOMAS THE NEW YORK TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Valvano, who had been a basketball commentator since he left North Carolina State amid controversy in 1990, had been admitted to the hospital in Durham, N.C., at the end of March.
It was in the 1950s that Frank McGuire established the pipeline that took top New York City players to the Carolinas. But for all their resulting familiarity with New York coaches and New York ways, the people and fans of North Carolina were simply not prepared for what hit them - and their ears - when Valvano took over as head coach at North Carolina State in 1980.
Valvano, a Queens native who had coached Iona to a 94-47 record over the previous five seasons, was seen and heard as the quintessential Noo Yawker.
Well before the Wolfpack won the 1983 national championship in his third season, Valvano had made himself into the state's most visible, and audible, character, appearing almost incessantly on a statewide radio hookup, accepting speaking engagements in every Carolina town and cheerfully promoting a soft drink, a health club, a fast-food chain and a bank.
Valvano's various activities not so much supplemented as dwarfed his initial annual salary of $50,000, bringing in an estimated $500,000 to $1 million a year.
"I set out very calculatedly to become known," he said, suggesting that fame would help his recruiting efforts. "The only thing I maybe miscalculated was how easy it would be."
Whatever misgivings his activities may have engenderded were generally swept away by his impish charm and his self-deprecating humor.
North Carolinians were mollified even further by what happened at the end of the 1983 season. The Wolfpack finished the regular season in a tie for third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 8-6 record, 17-10 overall. They did not lose again, winning a bid to the NCAA tournament by capturing the conference tournament, and upsetting higher-ranked teams to reach the final.
Their opponent was top-ranked Houston, which had won 26 straight games and was led by Clyde Drexler and the 7-foot Akeem Olajuwon, currently stars in the National Basketball Association.
For all its postseason flair, N.C. State, which had ended the season ranked 14th by one news agency poll and 17th by another, wasn't given a chance.
Knowing victory depended on a deliberate pace, Valvano showed his mastery as a coach by slowing the tempo. Still, with just over a minute left, Houston was up by 6 points. Valvano, realizing that the Cougars were weak free-throw shooters, ordered his team to commit fouls, and as the Cougars foundered at the free-throw line, the Wolfpack erased the deficit.
In the final seconds, State's Dereck Wittenburg lofted a long desperation shot that faded short and to the right of the basket. As Olajuwon, out of position, looked on helplessly from the foul line, Lorenzo Charles, who was jumping up as the ball was coming down, grabbed it and slammed it through the net at the buzzer for a 52-50 victory.
To the thousands who attended the game in Albuquerque, N.M., and the millions who watched on television, Valvano defined the moment of victory, leaping off the bench with a whoop and running wildly down the court looking for someone to hug.
James Thomas Valvano, who was born in Corona, Queens, and grew up on Long Island, was raised on basketball. His father, Rocco, and an uncle were high school coaches, and Jim and his brothers all played for his father's Seaford High School team.
After playing for Rutgers, Valvano spent a year as an assistant coach there before becoming head coach at Johns Hopkins in 1970 at age 22. After leading the team to a 10-9 record, the Blue Jays' first winning season in 24 years, he spent two years as an assistant at Connecticut and three as head coach at Bucknell (32-32) before moving to Iona.
He capped his five years at Iona with two stunning seasons - a 23-6 record that included the Gaels' first NCAA appearance, and a 29-5 season the next year, when the team made it to the NCAA second round before losing to Georgetown.
Valvano may have ultimately fallen victim to his own salesmanship as a recruiter, sometimes promising more playing time than he could deliver, sometimes blinding himself to possible academic and disciplinary shortcomings.
The beginning of the end of his coaching career came early in 1989 with the publicity surrounding a book, "Personal Fouls," which promised to expose corruption within the North Carolina State basketball program.
Valvano demanded an NCAA investigation, which found some players had improperly sold game tickets and committed other irregularities. Valvano disclaimed knowledge of the infractions, but was forced to give up his post as athletic director. He remained as basketball coach as the program began a two-year period of probation.
A few months later, reports surfaced that a former Wolfpack star, Charles Shackleford, had accepted $65,000 from a man posing as an agent and a Wolfpack booster during his years at North Carolina State. Valvano said he had not known about the payments, and Shackleford said the coach hadn't, but in April, Valvano departed to start a career as a commentator with ABC and ESPN.
A little over two years later, Valvano discovered he had cancer.
His survivors include his wife, Pam, and three daughters, Jamie, Nicole and Lee Ann.
by CNB