Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305010072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: APEX, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
It was easy to look around a packed Catholic church in this tiny Carolina community and identify the background of many of the mourners.
They included 7-foot-5 Chuck Nevitt and 6-10 Tom Gugliotta, and if they were rating funerals, they would have led the list of towering mourners.
If ever there was a doubt about the status that a college coach turned sports broadcaster could attain, there also was a letter read to the audience of 700 from President Clinton.
And there were reminders that the dignity of a funeral could be superceded by the media. The early part of the service was marred by an awful noise from the church's sound system, an interference created by the antenna from a TV station's satellite dish.
At the graveside site, they even had press parking.
The paisanos were in full force - Valvano peers and buddies P.J. Carlesimo, Lou Carnesecca and Rollie Massimino. Mike Krzyzewski and Pat Kennedy were among the pall bearers, as was ESPN's John Saunders, whose new daughter bears the initials JTV in her name, a tribute to Jimmy V.
All of the ACC coaches except Virginia's Jeff Jones were there, plus Lefty Driesell, Jeff Mullins and Randy Ayers.
And, lest anybody forget the sometimes seamy side of college basketball, there also was Sonny Vaccaro, once of Nike and now of adidas, and Tom Abatemarco, the procurer of the questionable talent that led to Valvano's exodus at N.C. State.
Jimmy V, said the daughter of a close friend, was "a great guy who made me laugh."
I'll buy that. Valvano was a people person who made everybody laugh, who had countless friends and even more acquaintances.
That he got lost on the trail and the revived himself with his television career is a tribute to his ability. There probably never was a job Jimmy V didn't do well.
But what some people want to do now, that he's dead at the too-early age of 47, is make him a hero. I think that Valvano would protest. He was many things to many people - teacher, motivator, confidant.
What he wasn't, or at least not until he learned his body was wracked with cancer and he was fighting a battle he couldn't win with his wit and vigor, was a hero.
What he did in recent months, after getting over the initial shock of learning his time was extremely limited, was to go public. He fought his cancer in front of millions, utilizing his forum.
He did so much good in those months, placing killer cancer in the forefront where it should be, at a time when so many have focused their attention on AIDS.
Perhaps cancer research can now get on the front burners again. Just because it has been around so long doesn't make it less deadly, as Valvano's death demonstrated.
It was ironic that Valvano was scheduled to speak to a congressional committee on Thursday in a hearing to enhance funding for cancer research.
His substitute was Krzyzewski, the Duke coach who has been at his bedside so often during these months of pain and agony. "You're going up there, aren't you?" Valvano asked Coach K last Saturday, one of the final times when he had the strength to speak.
He was assured that Krzyzewski was making the trip to Washington.
It has been a difficult time for Coach K. He is nearly the same age as Valvano. They each have three daughters and they've each achieved fame and fortune through an unexpected national championship.
Krzyzewski has identified his own mortality in the disease that took his friend's life. Cancer plays no favorites. It doesn't care if you are rich and successful and at the top of your profession.
Jimmy V did a lot of good things in his lifetime, but none so important as the attention he created as he fought the one game he had no chance to win.
He should be remembered fondly, for his vibrance and his curiosity and his endless passion.
The image of him that will never change is the bizarre dash, in frantic circles, around the floor of the New Mexico "Pit", looking for somebody to hug.
Now, he's got a heaven full of willing participants.
by CNB