Bailey hailed Valvano’s impact on his career, and remembered one key moment when he realised what an innovative coach he could be when he used unorthodox methods to motivate his players.
“One of the things that really solidified it was at one of my very first practices with him, he brings a ladder to practice,” Bailey told Betway.
“He puts the ladder underneath the hoop, he takes out a pair of scissors, and he said: ‘Today, for the next two hours, all we’re going to do is to practice cutting down the nets.’
“And let me tell you, it was the most awkward thing that any of us had ever experienced. I mean, who sits at a 12,000-seat arena, with their team and a ladder, and asks them to pretend like they’re winning a national championship? He said: ‘What would you do, Thurl, if you won the national championship? How would you act? Would you scream and yell? Would you holler? What would you do?’
“It took us a few times to really get into it, but he wanted us to project ourselves into a national championship because he thought it would give us a sense of bringing us closer to the goal.
“The reality was that nobody else was doing anything like that. It was so unusual and unorthodox. I’m not sure anybody still does it. He was a visionary for sure.”
Bailey enjoyed great success with NC State that still lives with him to this day, with the 60-year-old admitting memories of it still come back to him every day.
He added: “It’s a part of me every day. I got stuff in my office that reminds me of it every day. 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.”
Valvano sadly died at age 47 on April 28, 1993, following a nearly year-long battle with metastatic cancer.
A college basketball tournament called the Jimmy V Classic tournament is now held each year in his honour and in support of cancer victims and survivors.
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