James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster.

While the head coach at NC State, his team won the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball title against improbable odds.

Valvano implored the audience to laugh, think, and cry each day and announced the formation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research whose motto would be "Don't give up.

Each year, a college basketball event called the Jimmy V Classic is held in his honor and in support of cancer victims and survivors.

Valvano discussed how he planned to use Lombardi's speech to the Green Bay Packers in front of his Rutgers freshman basketball team prior to his first game as their coach.

[9] His 19-year career as a head basketball coach began at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for a season; he was then an assistant at Connecticut for two years.

Following Norm Sloan's departure to Florida, Valvano was hired at NC State on March 27, 1980, and made his debut on November 29, when the Wolfpack defeated UNC-Wilmington 83–59.

Valvano is most recognized for his reaction of running around on the court looking for somebody to hug in the moments after the Wolfpack victory came after the game-winning shot in the 1983 NCAA finals.

Dereck Whittenburg heaved a last-second desperation shot that was caught short of the rim and dunked by Lorenzo Charles as time expired.

After this report, Valvano was forced to resign as the school's athletic director in October 1989, but remained as basketball coach through the 1989–90 season.

[13] Under subsequent pressure from the school's faculty and new chancellor, Valvano negotiated a settlement with NC State and resigned as basketball coach on April 7, 1990.

"[14] A school investigation did reveal that Valvano's student-athletes did not perform well in the classroom, as only 11 of the players that he coached prior to 1988 had maintained an average of C or better.

After his coaching career, Valvano was a broadcaster for ESPN and ABC Sports,[16] including a stint as a sideline reporter for the inaugural season of the World League of American Football.

He gave hundreds of motivational speeches across the country and was a featured guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.

[1][7][9][17][18] One of Valvano's most memorable motivational speeches was delivered at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum, less than 10 weeks before his death, during the 10-year commemoration of the 1983 NCAA championship.

Coaching rival and friend Dean Smith, one week removed from leading North Carolina to the national championship, substituted for Valvano.

[26] Valvano died at age 47 on April 28, 1993, less than two months after his famous ESPY speech, following a nearly year long battle with metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin.

[2][8] Valvano died at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina,[27] 10 years to the month after winning the national championship in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.

[29] On March 17, 2013, ESPN broadcast "Survive and Advance," a documentary on North Carolina State's 1983 championship run, as part of its 30 for 30 Volume II anthology series.

On March 1, 2016, a book by John Feinstein titled The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry was released to glowing reviews.

[31][32] On August 12, 2023, Valvano was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game both on and off the court.