Small stones and pebbles line the base of the grayish black headstone at Raleigh's Oakwood Cemetery, the one that says "Valvano."
It's an old custom, leaving stones, evidence that a visitor has come, that they still care, still remember and cherish.
It has been 25 years since Jim Valvano died, succumbing to cancer on April 28, 1993 and buried two days later in historic Oakwood. He was 47, with seemingly so much still to give, and those attending the funeral services on April 30 included North Carolina coach Dean Smith and many of his former ACC peers.
At the time, the man so many knew as Jimmy V was hailed as a championship basketball coach, the one who took N.C. State on a glorious run to the NCAA title in 1983. It ended against heavily favored Houston in The Pit in Albuquerque, N.M., won on a last-second dunk by the Wolfpack's Lorenzo Charles, with Valvano then making his mad, spinning dash about the court — moments forever frozen in time.
Today, those who come to Valvano's grave site may notice a headstone with an N.C. State insignia close by, just down a grassy slope. Charles died in a bus accident in June 2011. He, too, was 47.
With the passing of time, Valvano's legacy has evolved, from dynamic college coach to the dying man making a remarkable ESPY speech to someone who championed the creation of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
"His legacy really is a multiple of things," said Chris Corchiani, a former point guard for Valvano in the late-1980s. "He was proud of taking that '83 team to the national championship, but what's been done in terms of cancer research and awareness the past 25 years has to be far greater than anything even he could have imagined.
"A lot of the younger generation may not be aware of what he did as a coach but may know someone who suffered from cancer. Coach V is probably looking down, with an ear-to-ear smile, because he has had an impact on so many lives outside of basketball."
In his last public appearance, at the inaugural ESPYs on March 4, 1993, Valvano received the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. He needed assistance to the stage from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and ESPN's Dick Vitale, but once facing the cameras his voice was strong, the needed energy somehow summoned from within.
Valvano announced the beginnings of the V Foundation, with the support of ESPN, saying its motto would be, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." In talking about the need to intensify cancer research, he said, "It may not save my life. It may save my children's lives. It may save someone you love."
Twenty-five years later, the V Foundation has awarded more than $200 million in cancer research grants. Jamie Valvano, one of Jim and Pam's three daughters, was stricken with breast cancer in 2005 but is a cancer survivor.
"We're sure Jim would still be saying, 'We must do more, keep moving, we must do more,' " said Susan Braun, the V Foundation's chief executive officer. "I think he would be pleased with how many of his friends and family and supporters have stayed with this, because they know how important it is."
If anything, Valvano was a man who tried to squeeze so much into his life. He wanted to be a great basketball coach and coach against the best. He wanted to cut down the nets and win championships. He wanted to be a successful businessman, a successful broadcaster. He also enjoyed being a celebrity, interviewed by Johnny Carson and David Letterman.
Vitale said Valvano, with his humor and innate ability to make people laugh, could have been a "superstar" in television, saying he was "Seinfeld before Seinfeld."
Valvano was a family man, devoted to his wife, Pam, and daughters Nicole, Jamie and LeeAnn. His circle of friends and acquaintances was a large one.
"As a basketball coach, he was a brilliant X-and-O guy, one who could really work the sideline," said Lou Pucillo, a former Pack basketball All-American who became good friends with Valvano. "But he was a brilliant person, with such depth. If he had stayed healthy ..."
Corchiani believes Valvano could have returned to coaching, likely in the NBA. Then again, he could have turned to politics.
"Whatever, it would have been something special," Corchiani said.
One of Valvano's visions during his 10 years at N.C. State was to build a new basketball arena for the Wolfpack. Call it "Jim's Gym," he once joked.
The effort to raise funds for a new arena stagnated after Valvano's forced departure from N.C. State in 1990, amid allegations of NCAA and academic improprieties. But the Entertainment and Sports Arena, now PNC Arena, was built, opening in 1999.
Steve Stroud of Raleigh was the chairman of the Centennial Authority, which oversees the arena, when it opened. A longtime Wolfpack Club donor, he said, "Jimmy V's spirit lives on. PNC Arena is a reflection of Jimmy V. He was the impetus who really got this project going.
"His impact on N.C. State, the sports world, the world of medicine, how do you measure that? Just a tremendous legacy. He hasn't been forgotten. He has grown in stature through the years."
The ESPN "30 for 30" documentary "Survive and Advance" chronicled the Pack's 1983 run to the national championship. Spearheaded by Dereck Whittenburg, one of the stars of the '83 team, it provided a new look back for many sports fans for whom Jim Valvano might have faded from memory.
Valvano's iconic ESPY speech is shown each year by ESPN. It's poignant and emotional, and remains highly riveting.
"As many times as I've watched it, it gets better and better," Corchiani said. "I cry more and more.
"And kudos to ESPN for being an unsung hero in its support of the V Foundation. To raise $200 million, that wouldn't happen without ESPN's support."
Braun, from the V Foundation, seconded that, noting former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein is chairman of the foundation's board of directors. Krzyzewski, Vitale and Whittenburg also continue to serve on the board.
"These folks have stayed really true to this cause of beating cancer," Braun said. "It's a gift to us that Jim's legacy and his message are so strong and that makes people want to help. They believe in it because he believed in it."
The late Kay Yow, the N.C. State women's basketball coach who died of cancer in 2009, may have best described Valvano after his death, capturing the essence of the man.
"God just seemed to bless him to be able to see the invisible and to do the impossible," Yow said. "Track coaches always like to tell their runners: 'Never let up at the end of the race, run through the tape.' That was Jim's life — he ran through the tape."
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