Jimmy V

Jim Valvano. Former NC State basketball coach. He led his underrated Wolfpack team in 1983 to the NCAA National Championship. They won. Cinderella story? Absolutely. The truest definition of the phrase. They finished third in their division with a 8-6 record (17-10 overall) yet they went on to beat the topped ranked Houston Cougars, led by Hakeem Olajuwan and Clyde Drexler. That team captivated all of us, as did their coach.

His story is out there.

In the sports world Jimmy V is forever embedded in our memories as the coach running around the court, looking for someone to hug after the last second ticked off the clock. Cutting the net, holding his piece of history in the air, wanting all of us to come along for the ride. His spirit was contagious.

He eventually took his place along side Dick Vitale, Jon Saunders and others at ESPN and effortlessly made college basketball a sport that we all wanted to watch and learn.

Jimmy V is probably known more today for his unforgettable speech at the 1993 ESPY awards. See, Jim Valvano died too early. Cancer took his life at the age of 47. He spoke at the ESPY banquet knowing that he would be gone soon. His speech made an impact on all who heard it. I remember weeping, not fully comprehending what his life meant nor what his legacy would be.

With the annual Jimmy V Classic tournament taking place this week, ESPN allowed another listen to Coach Valvano.

"...To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

Inspirational? Yes. To have a goal to laugh, think and to cry everyday...Yes Coach, what a day that would be.

I miss Coach Valvano. Of course I never knew him but I enjoyed watching him on the sidelines, I loved to hear his analysis of college games, I got a kick out of watching him be a delivery man on "The Cosby Show," the banter between he and Dick Vitale was priceless. And yes, the speech touched my heart the first I heard it and every time since.

If you have an opportunity to watch it again, here is the You Tube link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlkqkFH6s