Jim Valvano’s Room of Dreams

Found linked at PackPride, this video is inspirational. It’s awesome. (And you’ll also see future Wolfpack head coach Sidney Lowe and assistant coach Monty Towe in there.)

Dreams come true at NC State. Dreams become reality at NC State. Are you a dreamer? Do you have dreams that you can make come true? Can you accept that challenge? I think you can. Remember, a wise man once said, “Nothing can happen if not first a dream.”

Flashback General NCS Basketball Quotes of Note Tradition

32 Responses to Jim Valvano’s Room of Dreams

  1. Cosmo96 01/19/2007 at 1:31 AM #

    Holy crap! Anyone got a brick wall I can run through?

  2. OwenDorm83 01/19/2007 at 6:32 AM #

    Saw a link to this on packpride last night. Classic V. Someone needs to burn a CD and mail it to Sid.

  3. Rick 01/19/2007 at 8:15 AM #

    Wow

    Is there any wonder why he coudl win big games? I always said if I had to pick a coach to coach one game, it would have been V. He motivated his players and made in game adjustments better than any coach I have seen.

    I would like to think alot of this had rubbed off on Sid.

  4. BoKnowsNCS71 01/19/2007 at 8:49 AM #

    It’s great that we have a coaching staff who played under Sloan and Valvano. It’s great that they were on the national championship teams.

    It’s great to have the dream back. To me — all the time since V left us has been a bad dream — or at least — not a restful time.

    Seeing this clip shows how V was ahead of the times. From his Hall of Champions for recruits to being the person major company CEO’s wanted him to talk to their execs.

    V had a message to the very end and that message and his memory will live on for a long long time.

  5. Buddygreen 01/19/2007 at 8:51 AM #

    Awesome. Lots of people had tremendous respect for V’s coaching abilty. Two instances I remember. I remember V was the commentator of an ESPN and one of the teams playing was a Dean Smith UNC team. V could tell you everything Dean was going to do even could tell you what adjustments he would make at time outs. He was awesome the other announcer evently asked him if he knew everything Dean was going to do how come he didn’t beat him more. V said just because you know what he’s going to do doesn’t mean you can stop it when he got 5 All american’s executing it! The other commentator was Vitale!
    The second incident was from Bill Gutheridge UNX was in the NCAA tournament and a reporter asked him how he was going to prepare for Rick Majerius (SP?) Utah’s masterful defenses. Gutheridge said, ” I coached with Dean against the master of junk defenses a fellow named Valvano. They won’t have a defense I haven’t seen.”

    Makes me wonder why more coaches are not as creative with their defenses as V was. He could match X and O’s with anyone.

  6. foz 01/19/2007 at 8:56 AM #

    After seeing a reference to it on this site, I just finished Valvano’s book “They Gave Me A Lifetime Contract, And Then They Declared Me Dead”. A GREAT read. I was fairly young at the time, and although I remember most of the major events, the real impact of everything was lost on me at the time. I have always thought Valvano was a great coach and very charasmatic, but this book allowed me to see how much integrity he had, and how much he cared about NCSU. After all the administration, and the ACC put him through, it is a testament to his love of the university and his players that he would ever talk kindly of State again – let alone come back for inspirational speeches at Reynold’s. Current and future players should definitely be given an NCSU history lesson, with a large chapter on V.

  7. redfred2 01/19/2007 at 8:58 AM #

    I’ll bet someone is wondering if Sidney could put together something like that right now? The answer is yes.

    Of course he would have to write it himself, buy a camera with a remote control, set off the smoke bomb, then hit the lights and run to the spot all by himself. That’s all because the people who are supposedly in charge of that stuff right now in Raleigh, do not have the slightest clue as to what it’s all about.

  8. BoKnowsNCS71 01/19/2007 at 9:23 AM #

    Does anyone know what a recruit gets to see about NC State? Do we still have the Hall of Champions? Do they see or get sent a professional video? Or is just the face to face between the kid and recruiter?

    I heard about some school (can’t recall exactly) but they brought the recruit out on the field or court to show them around and then had him look up and see his name and picture up on the jumbotron. Really pumped the kid’s ego and made him feel special and impressed with the coach and university. Surely, we have something polished for our recruits — don’t we?

  9. StateFans 01/19/2007 at 9:32 AM #

    I kept waiting for him to ask why should we even try to compete with Carolina and Duke…

  10. redfred2 01/19/2007 at 9:34 AM #

    Bo, Bo, Bo,

    Think about what you’re asking, and whom you are asking it of. I can see where there might be a dusty VHS tape in black in white possibly, or an audio eight track tape of memorable moments, floating around somewhere up there in Raleigh. But c’mon.

    Your demands are a little much, don’t you think?

  11. old13 01/19/2007 at 9:58 AM #

    Guess Foulup needs to quit eating spicy food at bedtime! Oh . . . sorry . . . I forgot . . . he IS the nightmare!

  12. 83 Pack Grad 01/19/2007 at 9:59 AM #

    redfred2, I WAS thinking that Sidney should cut a similar video. In fact, I think he should almost copy it word-for-word, just adding some updates about the arena. Think about the reaction if that Lowe video were shown in the RBC just before tip-off at the Duke game Saturday! I am a lobbyist and spend considerable time considering how information should be packaged for maximum impact. Whoever put the Valvano video togehter was a genius. Of course, having Valvano to do the presentation made the job a lot easier. Sidney could do something just as impactful.

  13. BoKnowsNCS71 01/19/2007 at 10:00 AM #

    V told us and taught us to dream Fred. Gotta dream…..gotta dream …..gotta.

    Maybe our next hiring coup will be in management.

  14. BJD95 01/19/2007 at 10:04 AM #

    Does anyone remember the exact quote from V about Dean’s number of wins, and how many came against him? That was always funny. Didn’t make me mad b/c we know his track record in really big games vs. UNC (especially the “Dean pushes camera” ACCT game in 87)…

  15. wirogers 01/19/2007 at 10:13 AM #

    You guys do know who made the last basket at the old UNX building before they moved to the Dean Dome?

    He was always looking to make the highlight real, puching STATE to the front of the line whenever he could.

    We, as alumni and fans, need to start to push the current administration to work to bring V back into the history of STATE. It is like they have completely removed those years, like they never happened.

    I have learned, to ignore something is to relive it. You need to learn from your history, know it and teach it, to keep from reliving it and making the same mistakes.

  16. legacyman 01/19/2007 at 10:13 AM #

    I believe the Room of Dreams is no longer allowed per the fair-minded NCAA crew. Had el deano or comrade kruschev come up with the idea then it probably would be mandatory for all schools to do it.

    Jimmy V was a great motivator on and off the floor. It is a great shame that the youth of today don’t have the opportunity to hear him deliver one of those speeches live.

    Jimmy V will always have a spot in my heart and in the hearts of thousands of people all over the country.

  17. JimValvano 01/19/2007 at 10:14 AM #

    I think they should leave the video the same…and then as the traditional video ends, have Sid walk out onto the court the exact same way Valvano did. ..and have him talk about how Jim Valvano said to never give up and how all of Valvano’s dreams came true except for the third national title…and now the time has come to bring Jim’s dream to fruition through this generation of dreamers. He should then end his speech by saying a famous Valvano quote in much the same structure as the original Valvano tape does by saying…”A very wise and great man once said…Never Give Up” Come to NC State where we will never give up on our dream of another national championship and with your help we can make our dreams become a reality.

  18. StateFans 01/19/2007 at 10:14 AM #

    Whoever put the Valvano video togehter was a genius.

    …that would be Jim Valvano…

  19. noah 01/19/2007 at 10:30 AM #

    “I heard about some school (can’t recall exactly) but they brought the recruit out on the field or court to show them around and then had him look up and see his name and picture up on the jumbotron.”

    Go by C-F when they’re hosting recruits and you can watch them do that.

    Back when Holtz was at Notre Dame, I had a friend in their athletic office who gave me a tour around their football facilities. They weren’t anything great (the head priest at Notre Dame hated the “arms war” of football facilities and wouldn’t get involved), but their Hall of Fame was amazing. The history of Notre Dame football is almost the history of football.

    She told me that they take recruits to the entrance and tell them that they are to walk through the facility by themselves. They won’t be escorted. You walk through and you see the Four Horsemen and the Gipper and Knute Rockne’s stuff, you see Montana and Theisman and Paul Hornung and Tony Rice and Rocket and Tim Brown. They have Tim Brown’s towel that he used to always tuck into his waistband in there and everything else.

    There’s a spot at the end that they keep blank. Recruits come around and enter a fairly dark area. No windows or doors, so you have to keep moving ahead. At the end, spotlighted is a trophy case. They make a jersey with your name and number on it and they have worked up fake newspaper headlines and trophies and MVP and Heisman stuff for you.

    It’s very impressive.

  20. 83 Pack Grad 01/19/2007 at 10:40 AM #

    JimValvano, that’s an excellent idea. Sid could talk about being a part of Valvano’s dream, and Towe being a part of Sloan’s dream, and now he has a dream of his own, a dream for N C State, for the Wolfpack Nation. Somebody with contacts has got to plant this idea with our sports information people. Maybe Ernie Myers…..

  21. RickJ 01/19/2007 at 10:45 AM #

    ^Noah – That is awesome.

    Remember the sale the Athletic Dept. had a couple of years back for old equipment. I purchased an NC State basketball jersey with the name “Mouton” on the back. I assume this was a jersey they had made up when Bryan Mouton visited.

  22. Rick 01/19/2007 at 11:03 AM #

    “I kept waiting for him to ask why should we even try to compete with Carolina and Duke…”

    This video explains why we as fans will not accept the “happy to make the torunament” attitude. We bought into Jim’s dream and we will not relinquish it. I for one will never stop believing we can win the championsip.

  23. BJD95 01/19/2007 at 11:37 AM #

    Remember, Wake Fucking Forest just won the ACC title in FOOTBALL. Post-expansion, too. Nothing is impossible, and you should feel justified in telling anyone who cautions against championship aspirations to cram it up their crack.

  24. c6by66 01/19/2007 at 1:59 PM #

    If I recall correctly, Valvano also had a “dream room”…the recruit would be in the middle…There were game films playing….the voice over announcer intro’ed the recruit….who would make the shot that won the national championship. Would really like to know where that video went and how it was set-up.

    Is there REALLY an NCAA rule against having IMAGINATION? Valvano was a man of dreams…but yet delivered. I remember hearing him speak at WP functions…he was always an adlibber. I took my son and had a recorder set-up since my daughter could not be there (dance recital…her mom, the REAL BB fan gave me a pass). Valvano spotted it and walked over and tactfully shut it down…uttering a comment about not letting Dean Smith get any inside stuff that could hurt the pack. Really class act.

    I never realized that V was one of the early supporters of a top notch arena…not very radical…but still….he had a dream…

    Since this is “I have a DREAM month..” (no offense to the late Dr. MLK)…but I have a DREAM…I want to see Jim Valvano’s NAME on the court…I fully understand that Case and Sloan also brought greatness to NCSU…BUT WHO is shown, at least ONCE PER WEEK, during NCAA BB week…all the PROMOS always have the V man running across the court…He is one person (Harry Truman was another) who is MORE respected AFTER his death than while alive..It is AMAZING how many folks now quote him or give him credit…

    WHERE WERE ALL THESE INDIVIDUALS WHEN THE NEWS & OBSERVER CALLED FOR HIS CRUCIFICTION…and, like Pontious Pilot, the NCSU Administration called for the silver chalace…

    NCSU is probably MORE well known for what Jimmy V did for us than any one other accomplishment…I understand that we are a UNIVERSITY first…which includes academics and sports…but he helped put us on the map.

    I have an audio copy of “They gave me…”. I ripped it from the original cassette and burned it…need to MP3 it…I also put on his Reynolds speech and WRAL’s Wolfpack “song” from 1983. I listen to it often. I used some of his lines for inspirational speeches…

    I still get a tear in my eye when they show the intro at the RBC. Jimmy V was a special person…god rest his soul.

    I hear a lot of “V”, in subtle ways, coming from Sid. If you have not read the article on Sid and Wooten…check it out…

    http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701170322

    Sid will do GREAT….we just need to start filling up the RBC with STATE FANS…quit giving your NON-STATE fans your tickets…put them on Craigs List or COME YOURSELF…

    GO STATE

  25. redfred2 01/19/2007 at 2:09 PM #

    Some great comments here!

    Noah, do you know if that recruiting process is still in operation today?

    What is the difference in that, and the “Room of Dreams?”

    I haven’t heard a word about it in years, so I guess Legacyman is right. The “Room of Dreams” wasn’t the brainstorm of one of the darlings, so it couldn’t possibly have been fair or proper. And we all know nobody at NCSU would ever lift a finger if the NCAA asked to shut it down.

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