The 1996 television movie titled ‘Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story’ saw actor Anthony LaPaglia give one of the finest performances of his career.
LaPaglia stars as Jim Valvano in the lead role, the legendary coach who guided North Carolina State University to the national college basketball championship in 1983.
As highlighted by recent interview with Betway, Valvano’s achievements were all the more remarkable given what he inherited from former coach Norm Sloan.
His predecessor had built a talented squad, but they were still largely unconsidered as potential title winners when the season got underway.
One of the players recruited by Sloan was Thurl Bailey, who was subsequently selected seventh in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.
However, when Valvano was appointed as Sloan’s replacement in March 1980, Bailey and his teammates were not overly enamoured.
He now looks back on the team’s first meeting with Valvano in the college cafeteria as a pivotal moment in what was to become one of the greatest sporting achievements of all-time.
“He walks in there and talks about how he’s going to win the national championship, and if he can get us to see what he’s seeing and dream what we he’s been dreaming, then it could be possible,” said Bailey.
“He hooked a lot of us after that because he was so enthusiastic about it. He felt like if you decided you didn’t want to be there then you’re going to miss something incredible. That’s how he built it. That’s how he sold it to us.
“We all stayed, and it took us a couple of years, but the thing I can say about coach Valvano was he always walked the walk. He didn’t just talk it, he believed it, and he made you believe it.”
The lessons Bailey learned from Valvano clearly had a major impact on him, particularly after he ended his career as a professional basketball player.
Much like Valvano in North Carolina, Bailey has immersed himself in the local community in Utah by helping people build a better future for themselves.
He has won numerous community service awards for his work with students with serious illnesses or who come disadvantaged backgrounds.
These include the NBA’s prestigious J Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, which has been handed to some of the greatest names ever to grace the sport.
Valvano’s untimely passing in April 1993 after living with metastatic cancer for almost a year undoubtedly left a lasting impression on Bailey.
He admits that barely a day goes by without him thinking of the national championship success and the indelible mark Valvano left on so many people.
“It’s a part of me every day – I got stuff in my office that reminds me of it every day,” added Bailey.
“I got people who write me and call me and message me and DM me that they remember it. I live it every day.
“It doesn’t have to be in sports, but I live that moment, I live that journey in almost everything that I do. Everything that I represent is about being a champion.”
