[1][2] He played college basketball at Oakland University in Michigan, where he later served as an assistant coach.
[3] After his playing career, Valentine joined the Michigan State staff as a graduate manager, where his brother Denzel was a player.
[4] Valentine joined the coaching staff at Loyola–Chicago in 2017, where he worked as the program's coordinator for defense.
[5] In his first season with Loyola, the Ramblers went on a historic NCAA tournament run that went all the way to the Final Four.
[1][6] He was believed to be the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball at the time of his hiring at the age of 29.