FILE – Former Washington State basketball head coach George Raveling looks on throughout the school’s ceremony to honor him during halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between Washington State and Washington in Pullman, Wash., Feb. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Young Kwak, file)
George Raveling, a Hall of Fame basketball coach who played a task in Michael Jordan signing a landmark endorsement take care of Nike, has died. He was 88.
Raveling’s family said Tuesday in a press release that he had “faced cancer with courage and style.”
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“There are not any words to completely capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” the family statement read. “He might be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom continue to exist in all those he touched and transformed.”
Raveling, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, had a profession record of 335-293 from 1972-94 at Washington State, Iowa and Southern California. He had a losing record in his first season at each school before making multiple trips to the NCAA Tournament.
His success at those programs landed Raveling on the U.S. Olympic basketball staffs in 1984 and 1988.
Jordan was on the 1984 team that won gold on the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and Raveling helped persuade him to sign with Nike. He introduced Jordan to Sonny Vaccaro at Nike, which helped result in a contract that gave Jordan his own brand, made him hundreds of thousands of dollars and altered the athletic apparel industry.
Marlon Wayans portrayed Raveling within the 2023 movie “Air” that focused on Nike’s courtship of Jordan.
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“For greater than 40 years, he blessed my life with wisdom, encouragement, and friendship,” Jordan said in a press release. “He was a mentor in every sense and I’ll at all times carry deep gratitude for his guidance. I signed with Nike due to George, and without him, there can be no Air Jordan.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Raveling “a pioneering force” who helped make basketball a world game.
“During his long and impactful tenure at Nike, George traveled the world — mentoring multiple generations of players and coaches and promoting the game that defined his identity,” Silver said in a press release. “He broke barriers as a school basketball coach and was a towering voice in our industry. I valued my friendship with George and admired how he led with poise, dignity and respect.”
Raveling also owned the unique copy of the “I Have a Dream” speed by Martin Luther King Jr. He was working security on the 1963 March on Washington by which King delivered one of the vital famous speeches in American history.
As King was exiting, Raveling saw him and asked if he could have the speech, and the reverend handed it to him. Raveling held on to the copy until 2021, when he donated it to his alma mater, Villanova.
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He played at Villanova from 1957-60, averaged 12.3 points and 14.6 rebounds over his last two seasons. The Philadelphia Warriors drafted Raveling within the eighth round in 1960, but he didn’t play within the NBA.
“The best human being, inspiring mentor, most loyal alum and a thoughtful loving friend,” Jay Wright, who coached Villanova to national championships in 2016 and 2018, posted on X. “Coach Raveling lived his life for others, His heart was restless and type and now rests Within the lord!”
Current Villanova coach Kevin Willard said in a press release that he has “long appreciated the large impact Coach has made not only on our game, but on so lots of us in it. I do know Villanova held a special place in his heart and we’re eternally grateful for his contributions to this program.”
Raveling was involved in a serious automotive crash while coaching USC in 1994, breaking nine ribs, his collarbone and pelvis.